


I Long for Your Embrace

by pterawaters



Series: Oh, Can't You See? [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bottom Derek Hale, Competitive Behavior, Deputy Parrish's Name is Kyle, Derek is a deputy, Huddling For Warmth, Inaccurate depictions of Law Enforcement Officers, Law Enforcement, Light Dom/sub, Living Together, M/M, Police Academy, Polyamory, Relationship Negotiation, Stiles is a Deputy, Sub Derek Hale, Top Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:56:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1336222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place starting a year after "Oh Can't You See."</p><p>Derek never imagined himself joining the Sheriff's Department, but after living with Kyle Parrish for long enough, the idea starts to grow on him.</p><p>Stiles isn't exactly sure what he wants out of life, but he knows that it isn't a college degree or being away from the people he loves. The solution he comes up with will hopefully bring him back home. Too bad it doesn't do anything for his dead-in-the-water love life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Long for Your Embrace

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my previous Derek/Deputy Parrish fic, [Oh Can't You See](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1263904). Sticking with the theme, the title for this piece also comes from "Every Breath You Take."
> 
> Law Enforcement expertise and editing was provided by the one and only [ravingliberal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal), with back-up proofreading and discussions by [patchfire](http://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire). Tremendous thanks to both of you!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read the previous fic and encouraged me to write a follow up. I swear, I didn't mean for it to get this long!

Derek's life hasn't felt this stable in a long time. It's been over a year since Kyle came to Beacon Hills, and they're both still alive. It's comfortable, almost, having someone else in his space again. Derek's never lived with a romantic partner, but he did live with Laura from the moment he was born until the moment she died. Living alone after that just felt _wrong_. Living with Kyle feels right.

Not that they're officially living together. Officially, Kyle has an apartment near the supermarket. He goes there maybe once a week. His lease is up in two months. "Move in," Derek tells Kyle.

"What, here?" Kyle asks, a slight curl on his lips as he leans over and snags part of Derek's breakfast. "What makes you think I want to live in your smelly, drafty old loft?"

"It's safer here," Derek says, eyes flicking up toward the alarm bell on the wall. 

Kyle snorts. "It's safer a hundred miles away from this stupid town. This loft is probably the least safe place to live in the entire state." He stretches, and Derek eyes the way his skin pulls over his ribs.

"I like you here, okay?" Derek stamps down on the urge to slap Kyle upside the head. He shoves a waffle into his mouth instead.

A smile spreads across Kyle's face. "There you go. Was that so hard?"

Derek answers through a mouthful of food. "Yes."

"Okay, I accept." Kyle steals another bite of food. "You know this means you're never getting rid of me, right?" 

Derek lets himself give the smile he feels. "I know."

~*~

"Thanks," Stiles says to Deputy Parrish—Kyle—as Stiles sits in the passenger seat of the cruiser, feeling exhausted. "I thought I'd be running halfway across the country before that thing ran out of steam."

"It's a good thing I carry arsenic-laced bullets," Kyle says, patting his service weapon at his hip before he starts the car and pulls it back onto the road. "And who knows, maybe your dad will give me a raise."

Stiles chuckles, nodding. He's pretty sure deputy raises don't work like that, but he's not going to ruin the celebratory mood. Speaking of, Stiles says, "I hear congratulations are in order." 

Kyle keeps his eyes on the road. "Yeah? What for?"

"Didn't you move in with Derek?" Stiles picks at one of the seams near the knee of his jeans.

"Oh!" A bright smile spreads across Kyle's face; he's practically beaming.

Stiles figures that Deputy Parrish is a pretty good guy. Hell, he saved Stiles from that yeti tonight. Maybe Stiles needs to let go of his grudge against Deputy Parrish for being happy and being in a relationship, when Stiles mostly just has had random, awkward fumblings that don't really go anywhere. Sighing, but accepting that moving in together is a pretty serious step in a relationship (or so the movies tell him), Stiles asks, "So, you like living with him, then?" 

"Most of the time." Kyle chuckles. "Derek can be stubborn."

Stiles feigns a gasp. "No! You've got to be kidding me!"

Kyle laughs, and it feels like maybe the serious air between them has broken.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Stiles asks, fiddling with the air vent on his side of the dash. 

"No."

Stiles asks anyway, because it's been on his mind forever now. "Does Derek ever wolf-out in bed?"

Kyle chokes and the car swerves toward the curb before he rights it. "What?"

"What? I'm curious. Those first couple months, Scott had trouble controlling himself whenever his heart rate jumped up. I wondered if it was something they all did." Stiles gives Kyle a hopeful smile.

Kyle rolls his eyes back toward the road. "No. Derek—" Kyle sighs. "Derek doesn't let go like that."

"But you wish he would?"

Stiles can't quite see in the light from the street lamps and the dashboard, but it looks like Kyle might be blushing. "This is not an appropriate conversation for me to have with a minor."

"I'm not a minor," Stiles says, snorting at the surprised look on the deputy's face. "No, really. My birthday was at the beginning of November. I'm 18 now. Signed up for the draft and everything."

Kyle sneaks a glance at Stiles twice before he responds. "Yeah, well you're still my boss's son, so it's inappropriate."

Stiles rolls his eyes. He's grown up around straight-as-razors cops and cops that bend the rules too much and get in trouble for it. Stiles had sort of pegged Kyle Parrish as a good balance between the two. "Dude, werewolves and yetis and kitsune _exist_ , and you're worried about a conversation, which could be very educational for me given the circles I run in, being maybe a little bit inappropriate? _That's_ the line in the sand you're gonna draw?"

"We all have our lines somewhere, Stiles. That's why we're the good guys." Kyle sounds like he's reciting a mantra, and Stiles wonders how much he relies on those lines. 

"Do you not want to talk about it because you're gay? Like, you think I can't handle it or something? I like guys, too. I can handle it." Stiles hears the words come out of his mouth before he can really think about what he's saying or the fact that this is the first time he's said it out loud with someone else in earshot. He's been meaning to tell Scott for awhile, but Stiles is about 95 percent sure that Scott already knows and is just waiting for Stiles to bring it up. 

When Kyle doesn't respond right away, Stiles says, "Look, you're like the only human being I know who grew up around werewolves. I have no idea what's normal and what's not, and I've never really had another human's perspective on it. How am I supposed to keep helping Scott as his best friend if you won't talk to me?"

Kyle sighs. "I don't follow your logic, but fine. Yes, okay? I want Derek to be able to let go around me. I think it would be hot. That doesn't mean it's ever going to happen. That's something I accept about my relationship with him. Are you satisfied now?"

They pull up at Stiles' house and Stiles smirks at Kyle. "I don't have a hot werewolf boyfriend, but yeah. I'm satisfied for now."

As Stiles escapes the cruiser, he's pretty sure he hears Kyle call him a "little shit", but it's in the same exasperated but ultimately fond tone of voice that Lydia and Allison use with him. Stiles can live with that.

~*~

One night, while Derek helps Sheriff Stilinski clean up the last vestiges of vampire goo away from the scene before the rest of the department shows up, the Sheriff says, "You know, it would be a lot easier for me to explain you always being around crime scenes if you were actually a deputy."

Derek freezes, a scoop of goo seeping through the towel and into his hand. "What?"

"You graduated high school, right?" the Sheriff asks, like he already knows the answer.

Derek nods.

"You'd just have to go to the academy down in Sacramento. Six months, you'd be set. I would pay you a recruit's salary while you're in training. You know I've been understaffed for _years_. Since the whole kanima thing." The Sheriff curls his lip, like he's disgusted he even knows the word "kanima".

"I don't—" Derek dumps the goo into the trash bag at his feet. "I don't need money."

"If I wanna get you a spot in the academy, I've gotta pay you. C'mon. For me?"

Derek thinks about what it would be like, having a regular job. He's never really had one before. Laura worked a few months before the insurance check cleared, but Derek had been so messed up during that time, he'd never felt capable of helping out. He managed to finish high school in New York and take a few years of college. He never graduated from his program, and sometimes it weighs on him. 

Maybe it'd be nice to have a set schedule again. It would be nice to help people when there wasn't an imminent supernatural crisis. And Derek likes the Sheriff, despite being arrested by him. He wonders if maybe the Sheriff is a little lonely now that Stiles has gone off to UC-Davis. He probably needs someone else to talk to about the supernatural things that still go on here and there.

Still, Derek hasn't always been on the right side of the law. Does he really want to enforce it? "I'll think about it," Derek says, wondering if he should talk to Kyle about it. That's something that people who live together do, right? Talk about their careers and shit.

It takes Derek a few months to decide that yes, he will go to the law enforcement academy, but unfortunately, he's just missed the deadline for the session that starts in January. He'll have to wait until July. He asks Kyle, "You sure you're good with me joining you at work?"

"I'm good," Kyle says. "It's nice that you'll be more bulletproof than most cops. Won't have to worry about you as much, will I?" Kyle pokes a finger at Derek's ribs. It tickles, so Derek laughs. He's gotten used to laughing again, something he didn't even do much of when he and Kyle were together before Beacon Hills. 

One night, while Derek is getting undressed for bed, Kyle grins at him and then slings his work belt around Derek's waist. It's missing all the contents, except for the two pairs of handcuffs and the pen light. Kyle fastens the belt and holds up a finger before Derek can ask what the hell he's doing. "Just wait. I wanna see something." Kyle unfastens his badge from his own shirt and pins it to Derek's undershirt. "There."

Derek rolls his eyes and holds out his arms so Kyle can get a good look. "Happy?"

"You know, I didn't think I had a uniform kink until right this second." Kyle wraps his arms behind Derek's neck and pulls him into a kiss. "You wanna be the good cop or the bad cop?"

Derek groans and shoves Kyle onto the bed. Kyle laughs, ending with a happy sigh. Deciding there's no harm in playing along, Derek reaches behind his back and unfastens one of the handcuff pouches. He pulls the handcuffs out and approaches the bed. "I think I'd make an excellent bad cop."

"Oh, baby," Kyle says with a grin, his tongue caught playfully between his teeth. "What'cha gonna do with those?"

Derek kneels on the bed, his knees on either side of Kyle's thighs. "I'm open to suggestions."

~*~

His first day of class, Derek drives the hour to campus, checking his phone every five minutes, even though it's six o'clock in the morning. He knows everything is going to be fine. The nematon has been close to dormant all year, and even if creatures do straggle into town unusually often, these days they're all more or less harmless. Scott decided to do the online college thing for a year or two, just so he could stay in Beacon Hills where he was needed. The town will be fine without Derek for a long training shift four days a week.

Derek finds the room he's supposed to be in and takes a seat near the back. His face itches, because he was ordered to shave it, and his uniform pants don't fit right, even though Kyle swore up and down the night before that they looked perfect. Derek's sure Kyle has a biased opinion. At least his boots are comfortable.

When he hears a familiar set of footsteps in the hallway, Derek chalks it up to nerves about being in school again. The last thing he expects is Stiles rushing through the doorway. Derek can pinpoint the moment when Stiles notices him by the sudden uptick in Stiles' heartbeat.

Stiles rushes to take the seat in front of Derek, glaring at the woman who almost sat there, and turns to hiss at Derek. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Derek frowns and readjusts the pens he brought to class. "What are _you_ doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Davis?"

"After all those years running for my life, I don't know. College got boring after awhile." Stiles sniffs and rubs at his face with one sleeve. "No one knows I transferred." Derek sees a plea in Stiles' eyes, which says, "Please don't tell."

"I won't say anything." Derek studies Stiles' mussed hair and the dark circles under his eyes. "You sure you're alright?"

Stiles raises an eyebrow at Derek. "Concern? Derek, I'm touched!"

Before Derek can reply, the officer running the program calls the class to order. 

After the morning session (during which Stiles almost gets expelled for talking back to the officer), Stiles follows Derek to his car. "There's a burger place just a mile off campus. We should eat there."

"Sure."

Stiles gets into Derek's car without hesitation, and as Derek pulls out of the parking lot, Stiles asks, "So, really. What are you doing here?"

Giving Stiles a sidelong look, Derek says, "Your dad suggested it. There's less paperwork for him if a deputy ends up at all the supernatural crime scenes, rather than just a concerned citizen. I kinda think he wants a more bulletproof deputy, too. Did you hear about Deputy Wilkins?"

Stiles nods, looking down at his hands. He sighs before asking, "Won't that be weird, though?" Stiles reaches for the audio system, and Derek slaps his hand away. "Ow! Working with your boyfriend, I mean?"

"Not really," Derek says with a shrug. "I already help out."

"Yeah, with the supernatural calls. What about the normal, boring ones that take up the rest of the time. Won't you get sick of each other?"

"It's not like we'll be partners." Derek pulls into the parking lot. "What are you planning on doing with your POST certification? Don't you have to be 21 to be a cop?"

Stiles rolls his eyes and gets out of the car, leading the way into the restaurant. "I'm turning 21 in November, before the program's over. They wouldn't take me before now. It's the only reason I stuck out two years at Davis."

Derek does the math. That makes Derek 26 now. Some days he feels like he's still sixteen and has no idea what's going on. Some days he feels about 40. He says to Stiles drily, "Congratulations on your birthday."

Stiles beams. "Thanks, man. I did my celebrating at school, this last semester. Got drunk. Got laid. Flunked my midterm the next day, the whole experience."

"College was _boring_ , huh?"

Stiles glares at Derek. "Shut up. This is better."

Derek watches Stiles order a double cheeseburger and tries to tell himself being in class with Stiles is only for a few weeks, until Stiles gets bored and drops out.

Stiles doesn't get bored. He's the best student in the class at everything except the physical stuff. Stiles isn't the worst either, but with a werewolf, a bunch of former military members, and several former high school or college athletes in the class, Stiles is outgunned. He catches up quickly, though. 

It's apparent from Derek's interactions with the Sheriff on the weekends that he has no idea his son is in the Academy. Derek asks Stiles during one lunch hour, "Why haven't you told anyone about this?"

"My dad doesn't want me in law enforcement," Stiles says, pushing an onion ring into his mouth.

Derek waits for an explanation, but there isn't one forthcoming, so he doesn't press the issue. 

~*~

When the instructor, Officer Barrett, says, "Stilinski! You're with Hale," Stiles isn't exactly surprised. 

Stiles leans closer to Derek and says, "Tough luck, dude."

"I'll manage," Derek replies, rolling his eyes.

Stiles laughs. They follow the rest of the class toward the staged scene, each taking a dummy gun with a blue barrel. 

One of the other cadets jostles Derek and then shuffles away, her eyes wide. Stiles whispers, "I think I know why they keep pairing me up with you."

"Why's that?" Derek's voice sounds flat and unamused.

"Because I'm the only one who isn't terrified of you after last week." Stiles chuckles, and laughs even harder when Derek looks confused. "Dude, you didn't just kick your door in, you pulverized it."

Derek frowns. "It was a flimsy door. I was expecting a normal one."

"Riiight," Stiles drawls, unconvinced. He's certain Derek was just showing off after Jenkins, the meathead former college football player, impressed the instructors with his show of strength. "It wasn't a pissing contest at all."

Scoffing, Derek turns away from Stiles, adjusting his grip on his gun. He looks like a toddler trying to hold a crayon. 

"That, on top of the way you 'guessed' which box had the drugs better than the drug dog," Stiles points out. "It's creepy."

"I made the dog nervous. It wasn't her fault," Derek says, pushing himself against a wall like they'd been practicing all day.

"You know, if you keep doing things like those, you're going to get yourself in trouble," Stiles says, putting his back to the wall next to Derek.

Derek scoffs, probably because Stiles is about two incidents of back talk away from being expelled. Sometimes his mouth gets away from him, okay? Besides, who doesn't appreciate a cop with a good sense of banter? (The answer is all of Stiles' instructors, which is super frustrating.)

"I'm serious. If you rely too much on your senses, what use are you going to be after getting hit with OC spray?" Stiles glares at Derek. "Or during a _lunar eclipse_? Look, I'll help you."

Derek tries to insist that he doesn't need help, but Stiles won't let him get a word in.

"You have the supernatural abilities. You should be able to take everything in. We just have to work on your ability to notice things and then apply that information. Don't worry, I'm sure we can study together and teach this old dog new tricks."

Derek cuffs Stiles on the back of the head.

"Stilinski, you here for training or to joke around?" calls Sergeant Barrett. "We're starting now!"

"Sorry, sir!" Stiles gets back against the wall, glaring at Derek.

Derek smirks. 

~*~

Stiles calls his dad back during the mid-morning break, fully aware that it's been seventy-three minutes since the Sheriff called and he had to scramble to stop his phone from buzzing. Stiles hopes to god it wasn't an emergency call, because he couldn't afford to duck out of class to take the call when it came in. Stiles' instructor hates him enough as it is. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, just checking up on ya," John says, his voice easy and relaxed. Okay. There's no crisis. "How's the semester goin', buddy? Not working too hard, I hope?"

"Oh, you know me." Stiles sits down on one of the benches outside the school building. "Partying up a storm, drinking every night, doing _all_ the drugs, and having unprotected sex with everyone I meet."

John scoffs. "Stiles!"

Stiles notices Derek giving him a funny look. Stiles waves him away. "Alright, you caught me. It's been the same old, same old here."

"Remind me what classes you're taking this semester?"

Stiles rattles off the list he memorized back in January. "Really, Scandinavian Poetry is the hardest class. There's a lot of writing involved."

Stiles notices Derek hanging around the doorway, like he doesn't want to eavesdrop on Stiles' conversation, but also like he has no idea what to do with himself when Stiles is busy.

God help him, Stiles thinks it's kind of cute.

"Keeping your grades up?" the Sheriff asks, offhand like he's asking because he feels obligated to ask, not like he's actually worried.

Stiles' eyes watch as Derek glares at one of the other cadets until the guy leaves the bench he'd been sitting on. Derek takes his seat. Remembering he's in the middle of a conversation, Stiles replies, "Oh, yeah. I'm near the top of the class. Don't worry about it, Pops."

"You'll be home this weekend?"

Stiles winces. Academy keeps him busy throughout the week, so the only times he can work for his tuition money is on the weekends. He has enough saved up that he can get by with what his dad sends for rent and food, but tuition for an unaffiliated cadet is fucking expensive and Stiles would rather not have to spend the next month living on ramen when he has to run at least an hour every morning for academy. He's skinny enough as it is.

Stiles needs the job he has at this coffee hut, and if he cuts out on his scheduled shift this Saturday, he's going to lose it. "I can't. I have this big, uh, group project. Yeah, Saturday's the only time my lab partner can work on it with me." Stiles wonders if he should start referring to Derek as his lab partner from here on out.

Stiles says his goodbyes and promises to come home as soon as his schedule allows. Stiles then joins Derek, who says, "Shouldn't you tell him the truth?"

"Oh, _now_ you're mister 'the truth will set you free'? Tell me, how much information did you share with us when Scott was first bit?"

Derek looks down, but Stiles sees the edge of his mouth curl upward. 

Stiles punches his arm, which feels more like a wall than an arm. After a moment, Stiles says, "I just want to finish the basic program before I tell him. That way he won't be able to guilt me out of finishing."

Derek raises one eyebrow and tilts his head, acquiescing like he's saying he understands. Stiles tells himself they're already more than halfway done. It's not a ruse that's going to last forever. Soon he'll be able to tell his dad the truth.

~*~

Stiles' off-campus apartment in Davis is half an hour away from the academy, but it's a lot closer than Derek's place in Beacon Hills. One Friday night, when they've been training most of the evening, after Derek already spent the day helping keep a nest of fairies from attacking a subdivision and barely made it to class on time, Derek doesn't have the energy to drive all the way back home. He asks Stiles as they reach the parking lot, "Could I crash with you?"

"Uh, sure," Stiles says, his heartbeat speeding up like he's nervous. Derek doesn't know why he would be. As far as Derek knows, Stiles lives alone, so it's not like he has to explain Derek's presence to anyone. Still, Derek won't go where he isn't wanted.

"Nevermind. I'll drive home," he says, giving Stiles a wave and heading toward his car.

Stiles' steps pause for a few seconds, and then hurry behind Derek. "Nah, man. Derek, wait. With the day you've had, you probably should come crash. C'mon, I'll drive."

Derek nods, following Stiles back to his car. The Jeep died about a year ago, so now Stiles is driving this little coupe the Sheriff bought at a police auction. It still smells a little bit like the bitter prescription pills that had been stashed in the trunk, but it's mostly overridden by the smell of Stiles and all his related detritus. Derek folds himself into the passenger seat and tries not to look too uncomfortable.

Stiles laughs at him.

The drive goes by quickly, mostly because Derek nods off against the window as soon as he texts Kyle that he won't be home until morning. The walk up to Stiles' apartment is hazy, and Derek only remembers bits and pieces, but he ends up sprawled over a sleeping bag on the rug next to Stiles' futon bed. His pillow smells like Stiles, even more so than the rest of the apartment. 

Derek probably should be used to sleeping without Kyle next to him, since rookie deputies get the night shift fairly often. Still, Derek misses having another warm body to throw himself over as he sleeps. Part of his brain, half-gone as it is, tries to convince Derek to get up onto the futon with Stiles, just to have someone to cuddle with. He doesn't listen.

In the morning, Derek wakes up with Scott staring down at him. "Hey, Derek!"

"Wha?"

"Stiles had to go work. I'm supposed to give you a ride back to your car." Scott smiles and offers Derek a hand up off the floor.

Derek takes it. "You came all the way to Davis to give me a ride?"

"Pssht." Scott brushes off Derek's shoulders and gives them both an encouraging squeeze. "Of course not. Stiles and I are going to a frat party tonight after his shift. One of Stiles' friends from UC Davis invited us."

Frowning, Derek rubs at his face to help wake himself up. A thought occurs to him. "You know, if Stiles gets a ticket for underage drinking, it could keep him from getting his POST."

"What?" Scott asks, his eyes going wide. "Really?"

Smirking, Derek shrugs. "Probably not, as long as you don't let him drive. Can't have any DUI infractions on his driving license."

"I'll take his keys," Scott insists. He gives Derek a long look before asking, "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Derek assures him, wondering what Scott sees about him that might seem out of place. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's go."

~*~

"How're things with you?" Stiles asks, as he and Scott walk to the party. It's only about a mile away, and after all those training videos he's watched, Stiles knows exactly how awful an idea it is to drink and drive. "Kira okay down in Berkeley?"

Scott draws up half a smile and shrugs. "Good, I guess. She's seeing someone."

Stiles' heart drops down into his stomach on Scott's behalf. "I'm so sorry, dude. I mean, I know you guys decided to be friends a while ago, but I was really rooting for you, ya know?"

"Thanks, buddy," Scott says, patting Stiles on the back. Stiles throws one arm over Scott's shoulders and hugs him. "How 'bout you? Seeing anyone?"

Stiles shakes his head. "Nah." He tries not to think about waking up, seeing the strip of skin between the top of Derek's pants and the bottom of Derek's shirt, and then having to skedaddle off to the bathroom to jerk off about it without Derek finding out. It's probably just that Stiles hasn't gotten laid in months, and that he's been spending a lot of his time with Derek.

The only other people he's interacted with in the past three months have been the other cadets – most of whom are either obnoxious or too serious – and his boss at the coffee hut. None of them exactly make suitable dating material.

Scott's tone is hopeful. "Maybe you'll meet someone tonight!"

"Yeah," Stiles says, trying to make it happen through sheer power of will as they walk into the party. "Maybe. We could find someone for you, too. Davis is closer to home than Berkeley."

Stiles knows he's put his foot in his mouth at the way a shadow crosses Scott's expression before he puts a grin back on. "Totally. This is gonna be the best party ever!"

Stiles shakes his head and pulls Scott toward some people he recognizes. He doesn't have as much in common with them as he did last semester, when they were all newbie college students. Stiles thinks he'd rather be crashing on Derek and Kyle, bothering them about penal codes and making innuendoes about handcuffs that would make them both blush. Stiles wonders why he hasn't thought to go over to their apartment before.

It's probably a stupid idea. It _is_ a stupid idea.

As soon as Scott is safely entranced, talking to this cute brunette with dimples (God, he's got a type), Stiles starts to make his way around the room, looking for someone interesting. He sees a guy watching him, and Stiles decides it's finally time to make that leap and hit on someone who's not a girl. "Hey, dude. What's up?"

Stiles might be the worst at flirting ever.

The guy, who's a little bit shorter than Stiles, with dark skin and these really great cheekbones, looks away. Stiles thinks he must have read the situation wrong, but then he sees that the guy is actually smiling, the edges of his mouth turning up. Oh. He's just shy.

"I'm Stiles. What's your name?"

The guy meets Stiles' eyes briefly, his smile edging wider. "Jeremy," he says, switching his beer bottle into the other hand. "What kind of name is Stiles?"

"Easier to pronounce than my actual name." Stiles inches closer to see if Jeremy's into it. He leans onto the wall next to him, which brings him closer to Stiles. Yeah, Jeremy's into it. "So, you go to Davis?"

They chit-chat for a while about Jeremy's major – Mechanical Engineering – and then Stiles' change of schools. Jeremy's eyes go wide and flick down Stiles' body when Stiles mentions his class on firearms. Oh, yeah. This is happening. Stiles finally gets to play the hot cop routine. 

Just before Stiles takes the last swallow of his beer, after which he's planning on asking if Jeremy wants to go somewhere quieter, a girl joins them, slipping under Jeremy's arm and putting her arm around his waist. She says, "Hey," and practically melts against Jeremy's side, brushing her long, purple hair away from her face.

"Uh, hey," Stiles says, his stomach dropping as he realizes this girl is far too comfortable with Jeremy's personal space to be just a friend. "I'm Stiles."

"Becky." She extends her hand, and Stiles shakes it, noticing the contrast between her darker skin and his. "What are you guys talking about?"

_How I'm never, ever getting laid_ , Stiles thinks. He leaves the girl's question for Jeremy to answer.

Jeremy leans over and whispers in Becky's ear. Her mouth opens in a soft, "Oh," and she grins as she looks Stiles up and down. "You're a cop, huh?"

"Going to be," Stiles says, really looking at Becky now that he's not sure her motive is to keep Stiles away from her boyfriend. Her face is super cute, and she's wearing this funky dress that flows around her knees and makes Stiles want to slide his hands up her legs and under it. He cocks his flirty smile at Becky, thinking he's got nothing to lose. "You're both under arrest!"

Jeremy's laugh is a gasping sort of thing. Becky barks, leaning forward, her hand grabbing at Stiles' arm like she needs help standing up. Okay, it wasn't that funny, which means they're into him. Stiles grins. Yeah, he's into this. He's so into this.

~*~

Monday morning, Derek brings Stiles an extra coffee to gulp down before class starts. He means it as sort of a thank you for letting him crash the other day, but when Stiles drags himself up to the building from the parking lot, he looks like he needs it.

"Oh my god, I love you," Stiles says, taking the coffee as soon as Derek holds it out toward him.

"Rough weekend?" Derek takes the last few sips of his own hot chocolate. He's not a huge fan of coffee, since he tastes bitter much more strongly than most people. Derek _does_ enjoy a warm drink in the morning, to help rid himself of the cold that comes from leaving a cocoon of blankets and Kyle's body.

Stiles nods as he gulps. Derek pats himself on the back for thinking to buy the coffee closer to Beacon Hills than to Sacramento, so that it had enough time to cool off. Stiles sighs and takes a deep breath as he lowers the cup. "I spent most of yesterday confused and hung over. It was good, though. Got laid."

Derek winces at the image of Stiles having sex that pops into his head. He knows Stiles is going to tell him all about it, whether he responds or not, but Derek actually sort of wants Stiles to think okay of him, so he responds by raising his eyebrows. It probably looks like he's asking Stiles for details.

"Right," Stiles says, as he finishes his coffee and throws it in the bin outside the classroom. "So, I met this couple at the party Scott and I went to."

Frowning at Stiles as they approach the classroom, Derek asks, "Did you ruin a perfectly good relationship?"

"No!" Stiles cries with a grin. "They were looking for some sort of fantasy wish-fulfillment thing. I slept with _both_ of them!"

Derek's jaw falls open as he pictures what must have happened. He'd suspected for a long time that Stiles wasn't straight, but hadn't ever heard confirmation of the fact before. Derek also has to admit that he's surprised the couple in question chose _Stiles_. He supposes when he looks at Stiles he still sees the awkward sixteen-year-old he met in the woods, not the attractive adult standing in front of him. 

Swallowing nervously as he tries to think of anything but what Stiles must look like naked, Derek mutters, "Congratulations." He walks away before Stiles can give him any details. Derek doesn't want to know details.

Derek _definitely_ doesn't want Stiles to turn around in the middle of a lecture on proper response to noise complaints and ask, "So, does it usually take half an hour of foreplay to get a guy's ass ready for sex, or was this guy just really nervous?"

The choking sound Derek makes when he almost swallows his own tongue makes the instructing officer look back at them and frown. Derek steadfastly refuses to make eye contact with Stiles, who finally gives up, whispering, "Fine. I'll just ask Kyle. He and I are buds."

This fact is news to Derek, but he doesn't argue it. He's gotten in trouble on Stiles' account too many times already.

~*~

Stiles graduates academy the second week of December. He knows his dad is coming to the graduation ceremony to support Derek, but Stiles hasn't really checked whether or not his Dad got wind of Stiles graduating as well. Derek and Deputy Parrish show up together, as expected, with Deputy Parrish in his uniform.

Stiles meets his dad in the parking lot, cutting him off before he can see any of the officers he's bound to know. "Hey, Dad!"

"Son. Care to tell me why you're so dressed up for Derek's graduation?" John plucks at Stiles' tie under his suit jacket. "What's going on?" Oh, god. He's got this look on his face like he already knows what's up.

"Yeah, about that," Stiles says with a wince. He keeps his head bowed somewhat and smiles up nervously at his dad. "I sort of dropped out of Davis and went into law enforcement training instead. Surprise!"

"Stiles!" John throws his hands up into the air and takes a step toward Stiles. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Stiles takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, letting it out as he meets his father's eyes. "I was thinking that I can't stand being away from Scott and away from you, and that if I went ahead and got trained, you'd have to hire me."

"Uh-huh." John doesn't sound convinced, one eyebrow raised in Stiles' direction. "Do you know how many rules I'd be breaking if I hired you over another applicant?"

"Kyle says you're still understaffed by two or three deputies," Stiles tries. "There _aren't_ any other applicants and there aren't going to be. And you know that if you don't hire me, I'll have to take a job here in Sacramento. You'll sit there worrying about me all day, I know you will."

" _Kyle_ says?" John glares over Stiles' shoulder. Stiles turns and sees Deputy Parrish sheepishly walking away, dragging Derek with him. "You know I can't just _give_ you a job, right?"

Stiles crosses his arms over his chest and gives his dad an unimpressed look. "Really? Because Derek says you begged him into applying to be a recruit. _Begged_."

Scoffing, John replies, "Oh, _Derek_ says this time? For God's sake, Stiles! You just turned 21 years old! You haven't even graduated college. You can't make a decision like this!"

"How old were you when you decided to join the army?" Stiles glares at his father, calling out his hypocrisy. The Sheriff's return glare holds firm, so knowing it's kind of a dick move, even if it's true, Stiles says, "You know, I haven't really felt my age since Mom died, much less since spending the last three years dealing with all the shit that goes down in Beacon Hills. I _need_ to be there, Dad."

Pursing his lips, John crosses his arms, mirroring Stiles' stance. It looks like they're about to have a stand off the likes of which their relationship hasn't seen since the key lime pie incident of 2012. Without warning, John crumples, throwing out his arms and heaving a huge sigh.

"Fine. _If_ you're the _only_ candidate for the opening, and _if_ you promise to keep going to school while you're not on duty, then I _might_ hire you." John frowns, but Stiles can tell it's his frown of annoyed acceptance, rather than his angry frown.

This warmth of relief and acceptance floods Stiles' body and he grins, letting his arms drop. "Deal!"

John nods at the building behind Stiles. "So did you save me a seat?"

"No, but I think Derek did," Stiles says, turning and waiting for John to step closer before he starts walking into the building.

John keeps pace, but scoffs. "I can't believe these morons actually let you handle firearms."

Stiles knows that's his dad's proud tone of voice, so he laughs.

~*~

Kyle pats Stiles' shoulder, which gets Stiles to look up from his Prehistory of the Americas text book. There's only certain online classes he can fit in around his shift schedule, and this one sounded the coolest. "C'mon, rookie. You're with me today."

"What? Since when? I thought Karen was going to be my partner." Stiles dogears his textbook and stashes it in his locker before they head out the door.

"The Sheriff put her and Trevino on that carjacking case," Kyle says. 

_Deputy Parrish_ , Stiles reminds himself. He has to get used to talking about Deputy Parrish and Deputy Hale, not Kyle and Derek. He can't give his dad any good reasons to fire him. Especially not while Scott says there's something weird going on near the canyon just outside of town. "Oh. Good for her."

"We got an," Deputy Parrish makes quote marks with his hands, "'anonymous tip' about a weird smell coming from the river."

"Would this anonymous caller have a top-notch voice? You know, a real _alpha_ sound?" Stiles grins and follows Deputy Parrish out to his cruiser. Technically, Stiles has access to a cruiser during his shifts, but his keys keep going missing. They always manage to appear when he's assigned to go out on patrol, when there's an emergency, or when Flo wants to order out for lunch. Stiles is pretty sure his dad put the whole department up to it.

For the hundredth time, Stiles regrets moving back home rather than getting himself his own apartment. Sure it's a lot easier affording his college classes without having to pay rent and utilities, but man, at what emotional cost?

Kyle takes the drivers' seat and starts the engine. "Derek had Scott make the call to get us freed up from other cases. He and the Sheriff are headed out there now."

Stiles gets this amused thrill whenever he remembers that the sheriff assigned Deputy Lowey as Derek's partner during his probationary period, which means Derek gets to suffer the wrath of the Lowey's disappointed, almost dad-like glare. Stiles thinks Derek probably needs it. He hasn't had a real parent since he was sixteen.

As they drive, Stiles wonders how Kyle's dealing with Derek being a deputy now. Stiles isn't one to sit on his curiosity, so he asks out loud.

Kyle sighs. "It's okay. I mean, it's a good thing. I think Derek needed a more defined purpose. It's just…"

"What?" Stiles asks, picking at his nail beds. "Getting sick of him, even though you guys _just_ bought a house together?"

Shaking his head, Kyle scoffs. "Hardly. I just spent the past few years getting used to having someone waiting for me at home. Now he's not there half the time. I don't know why the Sheriff has to ever assign us opposite shifts. Well, I mean, I _know_ why. We still don't have enough deputies to keep everyone at four tens and have a good overlap of shifts, but still..."

Stiles mocks Kyle. "Boo hoo. I've _never_ had someone to come home to, besides _my dad_. Count your blessings, dude."

Kyle smiles. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It could be worse. I could be you."

"Hey!"

Laughing, Kyle makes a right turn, toward the street that follows along the river. "I mean, come on, you look like you do, you've got multiple genders to choose from, what's holding you back from dating someone?"

"Oh, maybe my painful awkwardness, the fact that when I'm not working I'm studying, the fact that we live in a small town, the fact that I live with my dad, the fact that my dad is the Sheriff, and the fact that dating people who don't know about all this shit is doomed before it begins? That, maybe?" Stiles replies, completely blocking out the fact that Kyle might think Sitles is attractive. Now is not the time to dwell on the subject. Except it totally is. "Wait, you think I'm attractive?"

"Duh," Kyle says, his eyes on the road as he turns down a gravel pathway. "Don't go fishing for compliments, rookie. It's unbecoming of an officer of the law."

Stiles wants to ask if Kyle just has a thing for skinny guys or if he's actually seeing something Stiles just _does not_ see in the mirror, but they reach the river before Stiles can speak. The weird smell turns out to be a hideout for a pack of criminal wereturtles. Stiles tells Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jokes for a week, until Scott threatens to suffocate him with a dirty sock.

~*~

Kyle sits on the table next to Derek's piles of papers. "Want some help?" he asks, running a hand back through Derek's hair. It's getting a little long for regulation standards, but Derek's shoulders are tense, so Kyle resists making a wolfman joke.

"I'm supposed to finish this report by myself," Derek says, closing one of his open folders and poking at his laptop with two index fingers as he types. "Stilinski specifically ordered me to do it."

"The elder or the younger?" Kyle asks, even though he knows full well the answer.

Derek glares at him, which should amuse Kyle, but it just makes his stomach drop. This isn't Derek's usual level of annoyed.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him?" Kyle asks, slipping down into the chair next to Derek's. "You need sleep, babe."

"I'm not going to be just…" Derek sighs. "I'm not just the _muscle_ of the department, okay? I'm a deputy, I can do everything a deputy is supposed to do!"

"Derek," Kyle says, leaning over and hugging Derek, even if he doesn't hug Kyle back. "Of course you can do everything. I'm not saying that you can't. God, you're a better deputy than most of the rest of us, even though you've only been at it for a year."

Derek doesn't speak right away, but Kyle knows he has to wait it out. Derek will say what's on his mind eventually. When Derek sighs, Kyle knows he's waited long enough. "I made a mistake today. There were a bunch of eaten cat carcasses that showed up downtown. We thought it might have been werewolves, so the Sheriff came with me, instead of Lowey. I didn't check my corners when we breached this den of squatters. The Sheriff almost got shot because of me."

Kyle sucked in a slow breath. It's a rookie mistake, sure, but it's a mistake Derek has never made before. "Shit. I'm sorry." Kyle pulls at Derek until he turns and returns Kyle's embrace.

"I should have heard the suspect, but I was distracted." Derek confesses with his head against Kyle's shoulder. "Stilinski should have known better than to talk to me."

Confused, Kyle asks, "What was he talking about?"

"I guess Stiles brought a boyfriend home for dinner. Before we got to the scene, Stilinski was asking me about whether or not I knew Stiles was into dating guys." Derek sounds almost disgusted, but Kyle knows he's probably more disgusted with himself for letting the conversation distract him than with the topic itself.

"Luke," Kyle says. "He's new in town. Replaced the guy at Reggie's Cars who got decapitated by that—"

Derek looks up at Kyle with one of his dark brows raised. "What made you think I need to know about Stiles' stupid boyfriend?"

Kyle shrugs. "Everyone likes gossip?"

"Does this guy even know about…?" Derek lifts his hands up, like he's indicating _all of this_.

Kyle thinks back over what Stiles has told him, which is probably everything, because any time there's a moment of silence, Stiles starts to fill it. Rather than being annoyed, Kyle finds Stiles' chatter endearing. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't. Unless you were referring to gay sex, in which case, I'm sure he _does_. Stiles can't stop talking about how often he's getting laid. It's cute."

"It's dangerous," Derek insists, his frown deepening. "Stiles is the Alpha's best friend. Anyone close to either of them is in danger. Stiles shouldn't be so irresponsible."

Giving Derek a look, because Derek isn't usually this invested in other people's personal decisions, Kyle asks, "Do you want to tell me what this is really about?"

"I _just_ told you." Derek huffs, and his nostrils flare as he pulls away from Kyle. He shuffles the papers on the table. "I have to finish this. Stilinski needs it in the morning."

"Okay," Kyle says, lifting his hands away and leaving the kitchen. In the bathroom, he finds one of Derek's uniform shirts with a bloody hole in it. No wonder he almost bit Kyle's head off. Derek's always grumpy after getting shot. Kyle wishes it wouldn't ever happen, even if Derek can heal. Kyle knows full well that werewolves aren't invincible, even when they pretend to be.

~*~

"What's this?" Derek asks when he gets home, finding Stiles sitting on his couch, giggling at nothing, and Kyle sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him. It's not that Stiles has never been over to their apartment before, but it's usually a quick visit to pick up something or someone, not a social call.

"Derek!" Stiles cries, vaulting up off of the couch despite Kyle's efforts to catch him. Stiles slams into Derek's chest, throwing his arms around behind Derek's neck. "Derek, I'm so glad you're here!"

The smell of alcohol on Stiles' breath makes Derek's eyes water. He raises an eyebrow at Kyle.

Sighing, Kyle says, "Stiles and Luke broke up. He called me for a ride after getting trashed out in the Preserve. Apparently Scott is out of town for the weekend."

Stiles nods earnestly. "Ky-kyle is the _best_ partner a guy could have!" Derek loosens Stiles' arms and pushes him so he's not in Derek's face anymore, even if he does allow Stiles to keep holding on for support. "Derek? Don't you think Kyle is the best partner? All handsome and thoughtful and kind? And that ass, am I right?"

Derek watches Kyle blush and hold up his hands placatingly. "I found him like this, thought it best not to bring him to the Sheriff's house while he's still drunk."

"He's over 21," Derek says, dumping Stiles back on the couch. "It's not like his dad is going to ground him or give him a ticket. You should've brought him home."

"Seriously?" Kyle gets between Derek and Stiles. "Look, I know you're mister super-deputy now, but he's our colleague and friend. If he wants to steal his dad's whiskey and get drunk over getting dumped by this guy, we should give him a break."

"Yeah," Stiles says as he stands up, plastering himself to Kyle's back with his chin over Kyle's shoulder. "Give a guy a break, Derek. Jesus," Stiles focus switches from Derek to the way he's fitting his hands just above Kyle's hips. The sight makes Derek's blood race through his body, and his fangs feel like they're about to slip down. "Look how tiny your waist is, dude! God, I bet you're fun to fuck."

Derek's growl is cut off when Kyle grabs one of Stiles' thumbs and twists it back as he turns to face Stiles. "Deputy Stilinski, don't for one second think I won't break your fingers just because you're my partner and you're drunk."

Stiles dissolves into a fit of giggles, collapsing back down on the couch. "Oh, my god, your face! Both of your faces!"

Derek turns to escape toward the kitchen or the bedroom or something, and as he takes one step and then another, he realizes he's half hard. When did that happen? Derek goes to the freezer and aggressively eats ice cream until he hears Stiles pass out.

~*~

Stiles wakes up on Derek and Kyle's couch feeling first, like gum stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe, and second, like a world-class douchecanoe. Of course the first thing that Stiles would do after being dumped for being "uninteresting" is hit on a friend who was kind enough to look after Stiles while he couldn't look after himself. 

Stiles thinks about slipping out of the apartment and leaving Derek and Kyle to the rest of their Sunday morning. Stiles _could_ do that, but then he'd spend all day wondering if his night shift with Kyle was going to be dangerously awkward. Better to get his groveling done early.

But how to best grovel?

Stiles could make breakfast. He's not so hungover that the mere thought of food has him feeling like he wants to hurl, so someone must have given Stiles plenty of fluids to drink the night before.

Still, Stiles slams a glass of water before he begins poking around the kitchen, looking for supplies. Everything's laid out neatly and logically, with the dishes above the utensil drawer and the glasses near the sink and the pots and pans next to the stove.

There are four dozen eggs in the refrigerator, none of the cartons expiring in the next two weeks. Either Easter's in January this year and someone's planning an egg hunt, or these two men go through a fuck ton of eggs regularly. Stiles guesses the latter and pulls out the top carton. 

Stiles makes a pan full of scrambled eggs, then makes a bunch of toast to go with it. There isn't any fruit, aside from a sad, shriveled up pear at the bottom of the crisper, but there is a jar of strawberry jelly, which will have to do to make this a complete meal. Stiles wonders if he has to invite Kyle and Derek over for dinner, to make sure they're eating right. He knows, better than anyone, how a deputy's lifestyle and eating right don't exactly mesh well.

Derek comes in from the front door, rather than the bedroom, where Stiles assumed he'd be. Derek's wearing athletic pants, running shoes, and a long-sleeved henley. Stiles envies the fact that Derek can look hot wearing just about anything. It's no wonder he's got a live in boyfriend and stupid-looking Stiles is single again. Seeing Stiles in the kitchen, Derek pauses and raises his eyebrows at Stiles.

"These are 'I'm sorry I was a jackass and I'll never do it again' eggs." Stiles shovels some of the eggs onto a plate that already has toast and pushes it toward Derek. "Better eat them while they're hot."

Derek stares at Stiles for a long moment, and Stiles suppresses the urge to wince. Work is going to be so awkward from here on out. Stiles should just ask his dad for duties that don't involve needing a partner, like conducting traffic and helping the elderly across the street and filing paperwork.

Before Stiles can get too worked up, Derek takes the plate. "Thanks."

"Uh, you're welcome?"

Derek takes a few bites and then points at Stiles with his fork. "Kyle can take care of himself, but you do that again, and you're dead. Got it?"

Stiles swallows nervously. He's pretty sure Derek's exaggerating, like he always used to do when Stiles was in high school. Stiles can't say he wants to find out for sure. "Yeah. Got it. Right-o. Message understood, no need for any killing or maiming here today!"

Derek takes his plate and a glass of water to the kitchen table. Stiles watches him scarf down his food with this single-minded purpose that has never failed to fascinate Stiles. He bites down on the urge to ask Derek if he was raised by wolves, with manners like that. Maybe if Kyle were in the room to appreciate the joke (and keep Stiles from getting maimed), then he would say it.

~*~

After Stiles leaves, catching a ride with Allison, Kyle sits next to Derek on the couch. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Derek turns the page of his book, sighing when Kyle puts his hand over the page. Looking up at Kyle, Derek insists, "I'm fine."

Kyle rolls his eyes."You ate all of the rocky road. I found the empty tub in the trash. You're not fine."

So maybe Derek got a little carried away. It's not like it's a crime to eat the ice cream you paid for with your own money. He shrugs.

"Is this about Stiles?"

Derek gets up from the couch, suddenly very uncomfortable sitting down. "No. Stiles is just annoying. What else is new?"

"You know, Mrs. Milanovic from down the street hit on me the other day. Said she'd take me on a week-long vacation to the mountains, if I was up for it. Do I need to go get you a cheeseburger, so you can eat your feelings about that, too?" Kyle laces his hands behind his head and leans back, like he's proud of himself.

Derek feels like punching something. Maybe he feels like punching Kyle, just a little bit. He glares at Kyle.

"I deal with people looking at you all the time, Derek. I don't flip out about it."

This is news to Derek. People are generally _afraid_ of him, aren't they? They're too scared to look at Derek or flirt with him or whatever. Now that he has a uniform and a badge, some people trust him more than they used to, but just as many steer clear. 

While Derek thinks, Kyle stands up and approaches him. "Der, I'm not going anywhere."

Finally, it occurs to Derek what's been bothering him. "You spend a lot of time with him. You like him. You have fun with him."

Kyle scoffs and pulls Derek into a kiss with a hand on either side of Derek's face. "You're stupid. Stiles is my partner. We're friends. You and I have been together, what? Five years this time around? And you still don't trust me?"

Derek can't help but feel stupid, but that doesn't change the fact that Stiles and Kyle looked good together. They would make a much better couple than Kyle and Derek. Derek doesn't fit anywhere, not even in his deputy uniform. The seams of his uniform shirt dig into his skin, and Derek spends a not insignificant amount of his day ignoring the need to strip out of his clothes. He loves his job, loves helping people, but Derek _hates_ his uniform. He bets Stiles doesn't hate _his_ uniform. He was practically born to wear it.

The other thing that makes Derek feel stupid and embarrassed is the reaction he had to Stiles talking that way about Kyle. Isn't Derek _supposed_ to feel jealous? What kind of screwed-up person feels turned on instead of jealous? Unable to get the words past his throat, Derek says instead, "I don't trust myself."

"What?"

Derek opens his mouth, fully intent on explaining what he means. And then a little voice in his head says, "Don't. You don't want him to know how sick and twisted you are inside, Derek." The voice sounds a lot like Kate.

Derek leaves the house.

He gets in his car and drives around the block. He does it once more and then pulls back into the driveway. 

Kyle's doing the dishes in the kitchen when Derek goes back into the house. He wraps his arms around Kyle and kisses his neck. Derek says, "I love you," and in his head it sounds a lot more like, "Don't leave me."

"I know." After a beat, Kyle snorts. He's always been a fan of Star Wars references. Derek ignores the fact that it's another thing Kyle and Stiles have in common. 

~*~

"I hate pixies." Stiles shivers, pressing closer against Derek's unwilling shoulder. Derek isn't that much warmer than Stiles, seeing as he's just as damp and cold, but he's better than nothing. Part of the cave is covered in ice-cold water, but there's just enough dry land to sit on. The air isn't much warmer than the water, cooled by the pixies to below freezing. They think they're so funny. Bastards.

"We shouldn't have come without back up," Derek says, and Stiles wishes he could see the constipated anger on Derek's face. In the dim light filtering in through a crack in the roof of the cave, Derek's snarling rage sounds about five times scarier than normal. "I promised Kyle I would stop doing stupid shit."

"Really?" Stiles asks, feeling the way his mouth slurs around the word. "When was that?"

Derek laughs, or at least Stiles thinks he does. Maybe it's a shiver. Stiles is having a hard time focusing. "After the second time I got shot."

Shaking himself out of what feels like a grade-A stupor, Stiles asks, "You got _shot_? When?"

"A few months back," Derek says, looking over at Stiles. His eyes go wide. "Stiles?"

"Hmm?" God, Stiles feels so sleepy. Maybe he can just close his eyes.

Stiles feels his body jostle, something tap the side of his face a few times, and suddenly Derek's face is much closer. "Stiles. C'mon. Keep talking to me." Derek's breath feels scorching hot against Stiles' face.

"About what?"

Derek huffs, wrapping his arms around Stiles, somehow ending with one warm hand on the back of Stiles' neck. "Anything. Everything. C'mon. I know you can do it."

Stiles pulls his arms in as far as they'll go. "Are we hugging? Is— is this a hug?"

"Yes." Derek tightens his arms around Stiles. "Now, talk."

"I like hugs," Stiles says, his brain too slow to filter anything. "I like getting hugs from you."

Derek shifts his weight, and then Stiles finds himself in Derek's lap. "When have I _ever_ hugged you?"

Stiles shakes his head, trying to remember. This can't be the only time, can it? Oh, right. "I dream about it sometimes. You hug me. You let Kyle hug me without getting all jealous. Scott's down in Berkeley; I don't get enough hugs."

"You could follow him there." Derek's breaths sound so slow and deep when Stiles rests his head against Derek's chest. "The nematon is barely active anymore. I can keep watch."

"Pssht." Stiles tries to smack Derek, but that would mean moving his arms out of the moderately warm space between the two of them.

"There's got to be more for you in Berkeley than there is here. You're the one always complaining about not having anyone to date."

"But _you're_ here," Stiles says, sure that it explains everything. "You, and—and Kyle, and _my dad_. Allison." Stiles' teeth chatter, and for a moment, he thanks the universe that he can still feel how cold he is. Maybe Stiles won't die. He's had a pretty good track record so far. "I could do without Isaac."

Derek laughs. It sounds weird.

"You should laugh more." Stiles tilts his head, trying to look up at Derek, but all he sees is beard. "Are all werewolves this good at growing facial hair? I still don't know why Dad lets you keep your beard. Only creepy porno moustaches are allowed."

"I hate shaving, but–" Derek lets a breath out his nose, the edges of his lips curling up. "But, I told your dad it's a werewolf thing. That it grows too fast to keep up with."

Stiles laughs, but it sticks in his chilled-closed throat and comes out as a cough. "No way! You got away with that?"

"Mm-hmm." Derek closes his eyes and Stiles follows suit, only mildly worried about it.

Wait. Stiles is supposed to be doing something. Talking. He's supposed to be talking. Why isn't Derek talking? "Derek?"

"Hmm?"

"Stay awake, okay?" Stiles tries to push himself up to get a better look at Derek, but he's having trouble moving his limbs. "You can't die."

"Won't. Just cold."

"Good. 'Cause I can't stand it when—" This unexpected warmth flows through Stiles' arms and legs. Fuck, that's not good. "When people I love die. It's the _worst_."

Derek laughs again, tightening his arms around Stiles. "It is the worst." Under Stiles, Derek shifts around. "Don't _you_ die."

Smiling, Stiles asks, "Does that mean you love me?"

The arms around Stiles fall away, and Stiles thinks his heart tries to beat faster in panic. Whatever it's doing, his chest feels like it's on fire. "Derek?"

One of Derek's eyes cracks open and his arms come back around Stiles. His face tilts down closer to Stiles', his breath barely lukewarm against Stiles' lips. "Sorry."

"Jesus, you scared me." Stiles doesn't really think about it before closing the distance between him and Derek, pressing his lips to Derek's. Derek's lips feel warm against Stiles' frozen ones. It feels so good, Stiles doesn't want to stop, even when he realizes what he's doing.

Derek kisses back gently, his breath drawing in sharply through his nose. Stiles expects him to pull away, but he doesn't. Stiles' entire world becomes a series of kisses, distracting him from how cold he is and how he's probably dying. 

~*~

Derek wakes up in the hospital. Patches of his skin feel like they're on fire, but he knows that's just the healing process. His ears pick up a heartbeat nearby and Derek finds himself thinking it _has_ to be Stiles'. Instead, it's Isaac, who's sprawled out asleep in the chair next to Derek's bed. Derek tries to speak to him, but his throat is too dry and no sound comes out.

Before Derek can do anything about it, Kyle comes into the room. He looks tired, like he hasn't slept in at least a day, maybe longer. When he turns to face Derek, his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "You're awake!"

Derek clears his throat finally, but he's still voiceless when he asks, "How long?"

Kyle rushes to Derek's side in three long strides, grasping his hand. "Almost a day," Kyle says, leaning over to press a kiss to Derek's forehead. 

"Stiles?"

"Fine," Kyle says, letting the railing on his side of Derek's bed down, and then sitting on the bed, one hand on Derek's chest and the other on Derek's jaw. "Some minor frostbite, but good. Awake. Apparently you insulated him from the worst of it."

Derek lets go of a breath he'd been holding. "Good." His voice is starting to work better now that he's used it. "Anyone asking questions about my, uh, recovery?"

"Melissa's taking care of it," Kyle assures him, pulling on Derek's shoulder as he drops down. "C'mere."

Allowing the hug, Derek sits up more fully to make the embrace more comfortable for both of them. It crosses his mind that the last person he held like this wasn't Kyle, but Stiles. "Who found us?"

"Scott," Kyle says, running a hand back through Derek's hair. The touch feels amazing and comfortable at the same time. Derek gets hit with this intense urge to go home. "He pulled both of you out while Deaton got rid of the pixies."

Before Derek can ask more, he notices that Isaac isn't asleep anymore. He's not even in the chair; he's waving people in from the hallway. Scott clears the doorway first, Melissa behind him, and Stiles trailing behind, moving slowly.

"Derek," Scott cries, throwing one arm around Derek – the other arm ends up around Kyle and they both get hugged. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm okay," Derek assures him. In fact, if there were fewer people around, Derek would want to get up and get dressed. As it is, he's okay staying in bed and preserving some of his dignity. He asks Scott, "Aren't you missing class?"

Scott grins, chuckling. "I can miss a couple days to make sure I take care of my pack."

Warmth spreads through Derek's body as he nods. He's used to belonging to a pack again. It's just that none of them says it out loud that often, not like when Derek was a kid at home and everything was, "Pack this, pack that." When Scott uses the word, Derek feels that much safer, that much happier. It's nothing he'll ever admit, of course, but he does nod back at Scott with a smile.

When Scott pulls away, Melissa sticks a thermometer in Derek's mouth and takes his blood pressure, her manner very no-nonsense, but still maternal. She reminds Derek of his own mother too much, sometimes.

Eventually, Isaac wanders off, Melissa goes to tend her other patients, and Kyle and Scott get called away to talk to the Sheriff. Stiles sinks down into the chair Isaac slept in, looking like he's in a not-insignificant amount of pain. Derek says, "You look like hell."

Stiles' mouth drops open and he scoffs. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Freeze. You're one to talk."

Derek rolls his eyes, but he feels the corner of his lips twitch upward. Stiles is smiling as well.

Stiles lets about half a moment of silence go by before he starts filling it again. "So, yeah. Thanks for keeping me alive."

Maybe he's still glowing with attention from his alpha, but Derek's honest and straightforward when he says, "You're welcome."

With a nod, Stiles shifts in his seat. "And sorry about the— well, about the kissing."

Confused, Derek tries to remember what he can about being in the cave. He remembers the water and huddling together with Stiles. And, oh right. Derek remembers the feeling of Stiles' ice-cold lips against his own. Derek remembers Stiles being a surprisingly good kisser for how frozen they both were. It makes his heartbeat jump forward. 

"It's fine," he assures Stiles.

"Can't hold a dying man's actions against him, huh?" Stiles gives Derek this sad sort of look, and Derek remembers Stiles saying he's lonely. 

Derek knows what it feels like to be lonely, and he knows he doesn't want Stiles to feel that way. He asks, "We both on sick leave for a few days?"

"What?" Stiles takes a second, his eyes moving as he thinks over Derek's question. "Yeah, I guess we'd kind of have to be. I know I need it, you need to take it. You know the other deputies call you Super Cop, right?"

Frowning through a sigh, Derek says, "I know. I hear them talk about me."

"So, sick day," Stiles says decisively.

Derek thinks he might regret this eventually, but he says, "Want to come over?"

A grin springs up on Stiles' face. "Really?"

"Kyle should still work. The Sheriff can't have three of us out. Keep me company."

As his grin fades closer to neutral, Stiles suddenly raises an eyebrow at Derek. "This isn't some ploy to get me over so you can cheat on Kyle is it? Those were minutes-from-death kisses and you know it!"

Derek hates the way his cheeks flush warm, a patch under his right eye burning where the skin must not be completely healed yet. "Stiles, I know! I just thought we'd watch movies and eat soup!"

"Oh!" Stiles sheepishly lowers the tone of his voice. "Oh. Yeah, that sounds cool."

~*~

Stiles and Derek are _friends_ now, Kyle realizes as Stiles follows him home for the third time that week. Sure, they were friends before the pixie ice cave, but now they're practically best friends. Kyle doesn't know what to do with this information.

It's not like he minds seeing more of Stiles, not really. They spend most of the work day together, so having Stiles over during Kyle's relaxation time isn't quite as relaxing as it could be, since it means looking over and seeing Stiles on Derek's other side on the couch and remembering that at least one of them has to finish the paperwork that's due at noon the next day.

Derek and Stiles _have inside jokes_. Kyle _barely_ has any inside jokes with Derek. Sure he has a bunch with Stiles, but with Derek? Kyle has no idea what's going on. All he knows is that Derek seems happier than he has in a long time.

Kyle feels a little superfluous, but only on the days Stiles comes over. On the days he doesn't, Derek is happier in Kyle's direction, more prone to smiling at Kyle and more likely to randomly touch Kyle without it leading anywhere. 

It leads somewhere often enough that Kyle feels completely satisfied a majority of the time. Kyle buys twice as much lube in his next online order, and just about turns purple with laughter when Stiles opens the shipment before Kyle can stop him. Stiles blushes and sets the bottle he picked up back in the box. Clearing his throat, Stiles asks, "That's a good brand, huh? Never used it before."

"We like it." Kyle takes the box up to his and Derek's bedroom. When he gets back downstairs, Stiles sits at the dining room table, looking pensive. "What?" Kyle asks. "Are you really that traumatised?"

Stiles shakes his head, chewing on the edge of one thumb. Kyle knows that means he's nervous about something.

"What?" Kyle sits at the table across from Stiles.

"Nothing," Stiles says, smiling at Kyle. "Wanna play that racing game?"

"Sure."

~*~

Derek sighs, looking over at the passenger seat of his cruiser. "What?"

Stiles slouches down even further, his armpits practically at the lap belt. It doesn't matter; he's on a mission. "Can anyone see me?"

" _I_ can see you." Derek lets his face fall into his hands. "You know I'm supposed to go canvas the neighborhood where that Toyota got stolen. Don't you have anything better to do than stow away in my car?"

"I have to talk to you," Stiles insists, pulling his baseball cap further down onto his head. "It's important."

Derek frowns at his steering wheel for a few seconds. Stiles feels a little vindicated in his friendship skills when he notices that Derek's frown isn't nearly as sincere as it used to be, years ago. "Fine. Talk."

Stiles rips off the bandaid and asks, "Did you ever tell Kyle we kissed?"

The breath of air Derek lets out might be relief, but Stiles isn't betting on it. "No. Why would I?"

Stiles' stomach drops down to his shoes when he realizes that the kisses he shared with Derek obviously mean much more to Stiles than they do to Derek. It makes sense, though. Stiles doesn't know why he expected anything different. Derek _has_ someone in his romantic life. He'd just been comforting Stiles, trying to keep him alive. It _isn't_ the only time _Derek's_ kissed anyone all year.

"It's just...weighing on me," Stiles admits. 

"Get out of the car." Stiles doesn't pay attention to the order until Derek's also getting out of the car. Stiles watches Derek round the car and stop outside Stiles' door. Derek pulls it open. "Get out."

"Is this the part where you fire me as your friend? You should _totally_ do that. I suck." Stiles, against his better judgement, gets out of the car.

Derek takes Stiles' arm and pulls him across the parking lot toward – oh, god – Kyle. Stiles is going to die. Kyle and Derek are going to hide his body so no one will ever find it. Stiles knows they know how. He's seen them do it with various supernatural beasts and even this hunter once. "Oh, shit."

Kyle looks up at them, his brows lifting up in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Tell him," Derek orders, jostling Stiles by his arm like that's some sort of valid persuasion technique (it's fairly persuasive).

Wait. Derek wants Stiles to tell Kyle? Either Derek's completely sure it wasn't a big deal, or he's pulling Stiles' leg and has already told Kyle. Well, whatever. It's not like it's Stiles' romantic relationship on the line...just his working partnership and two of his closest friendships. Yeah, if this goes sideways, Stiles is going to _have_ to follow Scott to Berkeley, and then Davis when he goes to vet school. Full circle, Stiles supposes.

Stiles takes a deep breath and lets it out as he confesses. "Derek and I kissed."

Kyle looks a lot more surprised than Stiles would think if Derek had told him before this. Stiles follows Kyle's line of sight to Derek, who rolls his eyes. Kyle tells Derek, "I'm gonna need some more context."

Stiles waits a few seconds for Derek to jump in on the conversation, but he doesn't. Stiles puts one hand to the back of his neck (the other arm's still in Derek's tight grip). "Uh, remember when Derek and I almost froze to death?"

"Oh," Kyle nods, but he still looks hurt.

Stiles looks back to Derek, who's much less nonchalant than he was a second ago, his brows drawn closely together and his mouth frowning. Derek lets go of Stiles and goes to Kyle. "It was nothing. Neither of us were in our right minds."

Kyle's head does this slow nodding thing as he processes this information. Stiles wants to agree with Derek, but he doesn't want this to turn into a "protest too much" situation. Eventually, Kyle says, "Okay."

"Okay?" Derek and Stiles say simultaneously. 

Kyle gives them both a smile that Stiles really doesn't like, because it doesn't reach Kyle's eyes quite right. Fuck. Stiles and his stupid guilt have fucked everything up. He could have just kept this whole mess to himself and no one would have been hurt. Jesus, Stiles is such a jerk sometimes.

Then Kyle says, "But you realize this calls for payback, right?" Before Stiles can stop him, Kyle grabs Stiles by the sides of his face and plants a kiss right on his mouth. It's a mush of lips for a moment, and then something clicks and Stiles doesn't even realize when he starts kissing back, but he is. Kyle tastes like he smells, but sweeter and more electric, with a hint of coffee.

Kyle pulls back as suddenly as he attacked Stiles, and smirks at Derek, holding his gaze for so long that Stiles is sure the two of them are in some sort of staring contest. "Uh, guys?"

Without blinking, Derek takes half a step toward Kyle, pointing a finger at his chest, and says, "That was _sex_ kissing, and you know it, Parrish. You went too far!"

"Hey, at least I did it in front of you, Hale, instead of sitting on it for two months like an asshole." Kyle doesn't exactly look angry. Stiles isn't sure how to peg his smiling, almost sharp-toothed expression.

"Yeah?" Derek asks, and whoa. He _does_ look angry with his nostrils flaring out like that. Stiles winces and backs away, but Derek grabs his wrist before he can get far.

"Yeah," Kyle replies, stepping into Derek's space. Stiles is fairly certain someone's going to get punched and it's all his fault.

"So, if I wanted to get even, I should do it in front of you." Derek pulls Stiles in closer, and Stiles is too confused to even think about trying to get away. "Is that what you're saying?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying."

"Der—" Stiles starts to say, but his words are muffled as Derek's mouth comes down on his. This isn't slow and tender like before. _This_ is fucking sex kissing. Derek presses at Stiles' lips in quick strokes, his tongue darting into Stiles' mouth. Stiles gives a token protest, but he has to admit that Derek really knows what he's doing. He tastes different from Kyle, a lot more like the orange juice he must have had for breakfast. The scent of Derek's skin is strong in his beard, which Stiles gets a good whiff of when he breathes in desperately through his nose.

Derek lets Stiles go before he's ready for it, so Stiles stumbles, half against Kyle. Stiles swallows nervously, pushing himself away from both of them. "You," he says, pointing to first Derek, and then Kyle, "are _crazy_!"

Kyle's indignant rage crumbles into a wide, open-mouthed smile. Derek laughs. _Laughs_.

From across the parking lot, the Sheriff calls, "Hale! Get going, and don't make me order everyone to retake the sexual harassment training!"

Derek, satisfyingly, pales, nodding in the Sheriff's direction with a little wave. He kisses Kyle on the cheek, punches Stiles' shoulder, and jogs away.

Stiles glares at his partner. "What the fuck just happened?"

Kyle shrugs. "Derek told me about the kissing right after it happened."

"Oh, my god!" Stiles resists the urge to punch Kyle in the face. "I've been feeling guilty for _months_!"

Kyle laughs again and opens the cruiser door behind him. "C'mon. We're on speed patrol today."

Sheepishly and still moderately turned on, Stiles slinks to the other side of the cruiser and gets in. After they pull out of the lot, Stiles sighs and says, "You guys are jerks. Jerks who are really good at kissing, but still jerks."

"Yeah, probably," Kyle replies, his eyes on the road. He glances over at Stiles and his smile fades. "Sorry. I guess we kind of got carried away."

"Ya think?" Stiles sighs. "Like I wasn't sexually frustrated already. Story of my life."

Stiles catches a look on Kyle's face before Kyle sees him watching and wipes it away.

"I don't need your pity," Stiles insists, sitting up straighter in his seat. "I _need_ someone to have sex with me."

"If you needed that, you could just go to the Jungle whenever you wanted," Kyle points out, pulling over behind the 9th street bridge so they can catch speeders coming down the highway without being spotted first. It's a mean strategy, but it works.

"Says you. The last time I was there, I spent all night talking to my drag queen friends instead of getting picked up." Stiles pokes at the computer mounted between the seats. Jesus, it's only nine in the morning. "Besides, I don't know. Anonymous doesn't really do it for me. I tried it out in college, but now? Now I want to at least _like_ a person first."

"Yeah," Kyle says, picking up a cup of coffee from the cupholder and taking a sip. "I know what you mean.

~*~

Kyle is hoping to make it home before Derek leaves for his shift, but it doesn’t happen. Derek’s car is gone from the garage and the house is empty. All in all, Kyle’s glad it’s not him on shift tonight. He thinks the day was bad enough, dealing with this domestic call. The kids were pretty bad off, and while Stiles was great with them, Kyle just feels sad and drained. 

He reheats some of the leftovers from the weekend, when Stiles came over and cooked for all three of them, because he thinks Kyle and Derek don’t know how to take care of themselves. It’s sweet and only a little annoying. Some weeks, Kyle actually packs himself the grossest, most bachelor-like lunches he can think of, just so Stiles gets it into his head to cook. What can Kyle say? The guy makes a mean lasagna. 

Dinner in hand, Kyle drops down on the couch and turns on the TV, mostly just for the background noise. When Derek is home, he’s not exactly loud, but he’s big enough that when he shifts position, the floorboards creak and the rickety second-hand kitchen chairs groan in protest. 

There’s nothing good on the TV (not that there ever is), so Kyle picks up his laptop, intent on checking his family-only email. His sister’s baby is due in a couple months, and he and Derek have plans to fly to Oklahoma to visit a few months after that. 

Kyle opens his computer and finds that the browser is still open, with a quicklookup search Kyle doesn’t remember in one of the tabs. Derek must’ve used Kyle’s computer. It’s been happening more and more often lately. Kyle keeps insisting that Derek just get his own computer, but he’s adorably technophobic and absolutely refuses. Kyle’s just about to quit the tab when he sees the question typed into the search bar. “Is it normal to find it hot when my partner kisses someone else?”

It’s not hard for Kyle to jump to a certain conclusion. 

The search results listed are all either about how to kiss, or about whether kissing counts as cheating. None of them appear to have the answer to the question Derek’s asking. Kyle isn’t quite sure how to feel about the question Derek’s asking.

He thinks about watching Derek and Stiles kiss, and has to admit he wasn’t _unaffected_ by the sight. For the most part he knew it was just a prank he and Derek pulled on Stiles, so Kyle had been focused on Stiles’ reaction, rather than on the way Derek’s jaw moved when he kissed Stiles. Now, the thought sends a thrill through Kyle’s body.

Maybe it is kind of hot watching your partner kiss someone else, as long as you trust that someone else. Hell, Kyle trusts Stiles with his life, almost as much as he trusts Derek. 

Once Kyle starts thinking about the two of them kissing, he starts thinking about what it would look like if they had sex. For the most part, when he and Kyle are together, Derek likes to bottom. Derek doesn’t really talk about it much, but Kyle has his suspicions about Derek’s previous relationships, especially those with women. 

It works for them. Kyle doesn’t know if the same would be true for Derek and Stiles. He pictures watching Stiles use those long fingers of his on Derek’s ass and, yep, Kyle has to stick his hand down his pants now. He wonders if this is what Derek did earlier, touching himself while he thought about Kyle kissing Stiles. Fuck.

How is Kyle supposed to look his partner in the eye in the morning, when all he’s picturing now is Stiles in bed with him and Derek, preferably with Kyle in the middle? Jesus, Kyle’s going to get himself fired for sexual harassment, isn’t he? Well, if it’s just between him and his hand (and maybe Derek when he comes home and Kyle talks to him), maybe that’s okay. Stiles doesn’t have to know a thing.

Kyle’s just come and is wiping up the mess with tissues from the box next to the couch when the doorbell rings. Kyle ignores it as he pulls up his pants and goes to wash his hands, but the bell rings again. Sighing heavily, Kyle goes to answer the door.

Stiles stands there with a grin on his face and a six pack of long necks in his hand. “I’m bored. Wanna watch the game?”

Resisting the urge to pull Stiles into an ill-advised kiss, and then push Stiles up against a wall, rutting against him, Kyle swallows. He should tell Stiles to go away, that he’s not feeling well. Instead, Kyle moves away from the door and says, “C’mon in.” 

He doesn't want to be alone tonight, anyway.

~*~

Derek wakes up slowly, light streaming through the window. He got off shift at two in the morning, so he isn't surprised to wake up late. He and Kyle both have off until Monday, so Derek feels like he has the time to stretch out and doze a little longer. When he finally rolls out of bed and pulls on a pair of sweatpants, it isn't hard to find Kyle in the living room, watching a football game.

Derek has never really cared much for football. He wasn't allowed to play it, or lacrosse, when he was in school, because the aggression was too difficult to control. Derek had played basketball for a few years, but Peter was the one who loved the sport, not Derek. 

Derek doesn't mind slouching down onto the couch with Kyle, putting his head in Kyle's lap and tuning out the noise of the game. Before Derek can doze off again, Kyle moves and the noise from the TV stops. Curious, Derek looks up at Kyle, who smiles at Derek and runs a hand back through Derek's hair.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Kyle asks, and Derek isn't quite sure of the look on his face. Maybe it's the angle.

Derek doesn't know how to answer, so he raises his brows.

"You realize we've been together over five years?"

"Yeah," Derek says, perfectly aware of the time. He doesn't think much about all the shit that happened five years ago. Life is a lot better now. More stable. Weird shit still happens sometimes – it's still Beacon Hills – but it's not this never ending train of one crisis after another. A selkie came into town a few months previously, but she didn't cause trouble, and only stayed long enough to carve a chip off the dead nematon so she could bring it back to her family.

Derek likes having a calm life, he likes having a purpose besides guarding the nematon, he likes looking out for Scott's territory while Scott's at school learning how to take over Deaton's practice. Derek likes living with Kyle. 

"Do you want to do some sort of anniversary thing?" It's the only possibility that makes sense to Derek.

"No," Kyle says, scrunching his brows together. "Maybe? Whatever. That's not what I want to talk about. I—" Kyle pauses, his mouth opening and closing without words. He pets Derek's hair like it's helping calm him down. "I want to talk about sex."

Derek fights the urge to pull away, and lets Kyle keep petting him. "What about sex?" Derek hopes it's something simple, like Kyle just wants him to top more. Topping doesn't freak Derek out as much as it used to, and he likes seeing Kyle all taken apart and begging almost as much as he likes letting Kyle take the lead.

"I just want us to make sure we're both getting what we need, you know?" Kyle says. "So this stays as good as it is now."

"What do you need?" Derek asks, turning and propping himself up on one arm, so he's at eye level. He hopes Kyle doesn't say something Derek isn't ready for, like bondage. Derek thinks he really would freak out if Kyle tried to tie him up. Asking Derek to stay still is one thing, forcing it to happen is another.

"Look, we'll take turns, okay?" Kyle runs his hands down Derek's shoulders, ending with both hands cupping Derek's elbows. Oddly, the gesture makes Derek feel safer. "I'll say one of my fantasies, and then you'll say one of yours, and we'll pick out, like, one we can try."

"One of mine, or one of yours?" Derek asks, trying to think of anything _at all_ that he could ask for. Nothing comes to him.

"If there's one we both like, we'll do that one." Kyle takes a breath and lets it out slowly. "I'll go first?"

Derek nods.

"Okay." Kyle takes his hands away from Derek's arms and puts them in his own lap instead. Looking down at his hands, Kyle says, "Sometimes I wish you'd, like, shift while you're fucking me. Wear your other face."

"Oh." Derek thinks about all the times he's topped and how often he's had to hold back just that little bit, to keep his face from changing and his claws from coming out. 

Looking up at Derek, Kyle asks, "Was that a good oh or a bad oh?"

"I could do that," Derek insists, pushing his hand back through the hair at Kyle's temple. Derek smiles and Kyle beams back at him. "It's a little dangerous. I could hurt you. But I could do that."

Kyle's voice breaks as he asks, "Really?"

Derek nods. "Yeah. I— Yeah." He leans in and kisses Kyle.

Kyle returns the kiss and ends up crawling into Derek's lap. "Cool." They share a long, slow kiss before Kyle pulls back. "Now it's your turn."

Derek closes his eyes and thinks – what does he want to say? What _can_ he say? Eyes still closed, he asks, "Anything?"

"Anything," Kyle agrees, his hands massaging Derek's shoulders and neck. 

An image he first got into his head a few years ago, after a particularly amusing call for a drunk and disorderly, comes to Derek. "Underwear," he says, knowing that Kyle isn't going to get what he means from that one word, but it's the first word he can think to speak nonetheless. "I mean, nice ones. Lacy. For you."

Kyle drops his forehead to Derek's shoulder and actually giggles. "No," Kyle says, before shaking his head. "I mean, yeah. That sounds fun. You want me to wear them while I fuck you?"

Derek shivers and nods his head, pulling Kyle closer in by his hips. 

"See? This is good."

Derek feels like his cheeks and ears are on fire, but Kyle is in his lap, holding him close, so Derek feels like it could be worse. "It's your turn again."

Kyle nods. "This one's a little out there, like probably not possible."

Derek can't think of anything impossible, except as far as physics goes, and even then the supernatural is an everyday thing for him. "What is it?"

Leaning forward, Kyle whispers in Derek's ear, "A threesome."

Derek's body jerks without him telling it to do so. He blames it on Kyle's breath tickling him. "A— a threesome? With who?"

"Whoever," Kyle says, far enough away now that his eyes roam over Derek's face. "I mean, a guy would be more fun for me, but if you're _missing_ something, certain _parts_ , I—"

"No." Derek pulls Kyle closer with hands on his back, kissing him. It's true that Derek's attracted to women. He's been in love with a few. Right now, though, he's in love with his boyfriend. "Ky, no. I'm not missing _anything_." The thought of Kyle trying to figure out what to do with a woman in the first place makes Derek want to laugh. He smiles into the kiss.

As Kyle pulls away, Derek takes a deep breath. Since Kyle brought it up, there has been an image stuck in Derek's head for the past few months. In a quiet voice, Derek confesses. "I _liked_ seeing you kiss Stiles."

"Yeah?" Kyle asks, his voice low and deeper than usual. "I liked seeing you kiss him, too."

Derek furrows his brow. "You did?"

Kyle nods. "That's what gave me the idea. Watching you two made me so hot. God." Kyle draws back and fits himself between Derek's legs, pulling one of Derek's knees up to make room. He rocks against Derek, and Derek bites back on a groan. "I'd love to watch him fuck you."

A cry catches in Derek's throat. He's achingly hard trapped between his body and Kyle's. Fuck, there's too many layers of clothes between them. "Ky!"

"Would you suck me off while he fucked you?" Kyle asks, and he's only halfway done speaking when Derek starts nodding.

"Yeah," Derek breathes, pushing at the waistband of Kyle's running pants. "Yeah. Fuck, yeah."

Derek comes on his back, with Kyle's cock down his throat, his own dick pulsing hot against Kyle's tongue and lips.

~*~

Scott comes back to town at least once a month, more often if Derek or Isaac find something strange. Since her parents moved to San Francisco, Kira rarely comes back anymore. Now is no exception. This Saturday, there's a department cook out, and Stiles brings a functionally-single Scott as his pseudo-date. 

On the way there, Scott asks, "So, how are Derek and Kyle?"

"Good," Stiles replies, shifting in his seat.

Scott looks at Stiles. "What?"

"What-what?" 

Shrugging, Scott says, "You're being all fidgety. What's wrong?"

Stiles stops drumming on the steering wheel and stills his non-driving leg. He sighs, taking a minute to compose his thoughts. "They're acting weird."

"Possessed weird, or listening to Bing Crosby weird?" Scott smirks a little at his own joke.

Stiles rolls his eyes. "Bing Crosby was a genius. No, like, I keep catching one or the other _looking_ at me. I think they're planning to kill me or something."

Scoffing, Scott says, "They're not planning to kill you, Stiles. Maybe they're planning on setting you up with someone."

"What?" Stiles has to keep his eyes on the road so he doesn't crash in surprise. "Why would they do that?"

"Your last relationship was with Luke, right?" Scott gives Stiles a _look_ , raising his eyebrows. "How long ago?"

Stiles presses his lips together. So, he's a loser, so what? "It was only … fuck, that was like _a year_ ago. Thanks for bringing that up, Scott. It's not like I've been busy keeping the peace _and_ going to school or anything."

"I mean, _I've_ thought about setting you up with someone."

"Really?" Stiles pulls up to the park and drives toward the parking lot, which is already mostly full. He notices Derek's SUV right away. "Who?"

"One of my classmates. She's headed to Davis for vet school next year, too. It wouldn't be that hard to see each other."

"And you think she's appropriate for me because…" Stiles prompts, getting out of the car and kicking the door closed. Stiles could probably afford a new car as long as he keeps living with his dad, but honestly he's starting to love his little junk bucket sedan. He grabs the bag of chips and salsa he promised he'd bring.

"She's really cute. Sarcastic. She knows about werewolves, but she's human."

Intrigued, Stiles says, "Those are three things I like. Tell me more."

Scott beams, throwing his arm over Stiles' shoulders as they walk toward the picnic area. "Her name is Teddy."

Stiles laughs. "Teddy? Really?"

"Yeah," Scott smacks Stiles' stomach. "It's short for something. Theodora, I think. I figured you'd appreciate it."

Stiles gives Scott a sidelong look. "She sounds perfect for me. Other than living three hours away, what's wrong with her?"

"She's good," Scott insists, but after Stiles stares at him for long enough, he relents. "Fine. She's a little mean, sometimes. I think maybe she didn't have the greatest family situation."

Stiles pushes out his jaw, thinking about it. He likes mean. He doesn't intend to like people who are mean, especially to him, but he can't help it. It's just the way he's wired. "I'll _meet_ her," Stiles says. "Next time I have more than two days off, I'll drive down."

"Or, I could bring her here over Spring Break?" Scott waves to Allison and Isaac, who are standing next to Chris. This is a departmental event, so Stiles doesn't know why they're here, unless Allison really is going to the Academy like she keeps threatening to. 

Does Stiles really want to meet someone? Having someone to go out with, maybe someone to have sex with, who wouldn't be a huge time suck actually sounds kind of nice. Stiles feels his heartbeat speed up at the thought of falling in love again. "Yeah," he tells Scott as he sets his contribution on the picnic table. "Yeah, you should do that."

Kyle shows up next to Stiles, a wide grin on his face. He hands Stiles a beer, and Stiles realizes it's his favorite kind. It's already open, but full, so Kyle must have opened it just for him. "What should Scott do?"

"Thanks," Stiles says, tipping the neck of his bottle at Kyle before taking a sip. "Scott's going to set me up with a girl from his school."

"Oh," Kyle says, nodding. Stiles notices that his smile fades away. What the hell? 

"What? You don't think I can do long distance?" 

Scott looks back and forth between Stiles and Kyle, his mouth parting. Before Stiles can ask Scott what he's thinking, Scott says, "I'm gonna go grab a drink and talk to people."

Kyle watches Scott go, but doesn't answer Stiles' question until Stiles pokes his shoulder and raises his eyebrows. "Our schedules are kind of unpredictable sometimes. Long-distance is going to be a bitch."

"Well, it's not like I have any other options, is it?" Stiles knows he sounds bitter, but whatever. He has cause. It's just, this is a party. Stiles is supposed to be having fun. "C'mon, I think I need to eat some meat."

Kyle chokes on his beer. 

"Well, that too, I guess," Stiles mutters, but he gives Kyle a grin. "But I don't have any offers, so a burger's gonna have to do for now."

"I—" Kyle says, like he's going to say something kind of important, but then he doesn't.

Stiles stops and turns to really face Kyle. Scott's suggestion for why Kyle's been acting weird pops into Stiles' head. "What? You wanna set me up with someone, too? Great, now everyone thinks Stiles can't get his own dates."

"Well." Kyle shrugs and avoids Stiles' eyes.

Stiles scoffs. "Thanks." Then he thinks it over and decides that two options are better than no options. "Do you actually have someone in mind?"

Kyle rubs one of his eyebrows with his knuckle. "Yeah, kind of. Well, I mean, he's not looking for anything serious. More like a fuckbuddies sort of situation. Something casual, but not anonymous, you know?"

"That…" Stiles thinks about how much school work he has to finish before the semester's over in two months. "That actually sounds kinda great. What's his deal?"

"There's more." Kyle moves his hand to the back of his neck, like he's nervous.

"What? Is he ugly? I'm not super picky, but…"

Kyle waves his hand around, shaking his head. "Stiles. He has a boyfriend."

Okay, now Stiles is confused. "You want me to help someone cheat on their boyfriend? Did you not see how badly I handled accidentally kissing _your_ boyfriend? I would die of nerves, Ky. You can't be—"

"I _mean_ they're _both_ looking for a fuckbuddy. Like, together."

Stiles raises an eyebrow, but his brain short-circuits a little as he pictures it. That one couple at Davis pops into his head. "I— I don't know what to say. You thought of _me_ for this?"

"You're the one always complaining about not getting laid. Derek says you had a one night stand with a couple while you were in academy."

"He _told_ you about that?" Stiles suddenly notices his dad approaching, along with Chris Argent. He hisses at Kyle, "We'll talk about this later." Waving, Stiles calls out, "Hey, Dad! Mr. Argent! How's it going?"

The four of them chit chat about the weather and about how no one from the department has died in like, two years, which leads Kyle to crying, "Knock on wood," and then rapping his knuckles against Stiles' skull. Stiles, so wrapped up in thinking about whether he could do that, could be a couple's third without feeling bad about himself, that he doesn't even protest. 

The sheriff looks at Stiles and clasps his shoulder. "You okay, son?"

Shaking himself out of it, Stiles smiles. "Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about something. How 'bout that food, huh?"

~*~

Derek watches Kyle pace back and forth as they wait for the doorbell to ring. "Maybe we should just tell Stiles your 'friends' changed their minds."

"Yeah, maybe," Kyle says, sighing and dropping down onto Derek's lap. "But it's all we've been talking about during sex for like, a _month_. We need to at least ask."

Derek nods and rests his chin on Kyle's shoulder. It's true that Stiles has featured heavily in Kyle's dirty talk lately. Derek doesn't talk so much during sex, but he has to admit, he _likes_ hearing Kyle talk about it. He likes picturing Stiles there with them in bed. Derek thinks he even gets off on the way Stiles' scent mingles with his and Kyle's when Stiles comes over to hang out.

There's a dozen reasons why this is a bad idea, but Derek can't shake the feeling that the worst one is the way Derek can't separate sex from his feelings. Derek likes Stiles, he's really fond of Stiles, even. Derek knows if he sleeps with Stiles, he's probably going to fall in love. What's that going to mean for his relationship with Kyle?

He whispers against Kyle's shoulder, "I'm scared."

"Shit," Kyle says, and his laugh sounds nervous. "So am I. Even after all that stuff we read about how people make it work."

"Polyamory," Derek supplies. "This is going to fuck everything up."

"Maybe." Kyle sighs. "But what happens if we don't ask? We spend the rest of our lives pining and watching while Stiles goes and marries someone else?"

"It'll be worse after we sleep with him, and he goes and does all that."

Kyle tilts his head. "Yeah, probably. Shit." He sighs and leans further against Derek. "If it all goes fubar, we'll move to Omaha. You know my dad would get you into his pack."

Derek doesn't want to leave Beacon Hills. This is his home; it always has been. The complication comes in when he admits that Beacon Hills is Stiles' home, too. Stiles didn't stay away for college more than a year. Whether or not Derek and Kyle ask Stiles the question they're burning to ask him, Derek is going to have to deal with living in the same town as Stiles. 

After spending five years in Scott's pack, Derek _knows_ it's better to be brave, to speak up and stop running away from the things that scare you. "We're asking him," he decides.

"Yes." Kyle puts a hand on Derek's face, getting him to tilt it back a little. Kyle looks at Derek's eyes for a second before repeating, "We're asking him." It's like a promise when Kyle seals it with a kiss. Derek lets the kiss grow heated without really meaning to.

The doorbell rings. Kyle leaves Derek's lap so quickly, it leaves Derek chilled. Kyle practically bounces to the door and throws it open. "Hey."

Stiles is chewing on one of his fingernails, obviously nervous, but he's here. He steps into the house, like he's done so many times before, and asks, "Are they here yet?"

Derek stands up and walks closer to Stiles, but he lets Kyle do the talking. Kyle's better at it, anyway.

"They're—" Kyle pauses as he closes the door and goes over to Derek, putting his arm behind Derek's waist. Derek lets his own arm down onto Kyle's shoulders. "Us. _We're_ them."

Maybe Derek shouldn't have let Kyle do the talking.

"Huh?" Stiles asks, looking like he's about to bolt back out the door. "You?"

Kyle looks up at Derek, pleading, so Derek sighs. "We want to have sex with you."

"Yeah," Kyle chimes in. "But only if you want to, too."

Stiles looks around, like he's expecting to see someone else in the house. "This— is this another prank? If this is a prank, you guys, I _swear_ to God…" Fuck, he looks like he's about to cry. Derek doesn't know what to do.

Kyle leaves Derek's hold and goes to Stiles, holding out his hands. "It's not, Stiles. We're dead serious."

Stiles' eyes are wide, almost wild, like he might run away at any moment. "You...you…"

"Not today," Derek says, holding up his hands, but staying back, giving Stiles his space. "Think about it."

"Yeah, take some time to think it over," Kyle adds. "Like, if you have any quest—"

Stiles cuts him off by closing the distance between them and pressing a kiss to Kyle's lips. The kiss makes Kyle sway on his feet, eyes still wide open and surprised. Derek gasps at the sight. Now that Stiles is a willing participant, watching him kiss Kyle is even hotter than it was before.

As Stiles pulls away, Kyle asks, "Wh—what?"

Shaking his head, eyes still on Kyle's kiss-reddened lips, Stils says, "If I think about this, I'm gonna chicken out. Just roll with it, okay?"

Derek waits for the barest hint of Kyle's nod before stalking over to the two of them, pulling at Stiles by the back of his neck. He kisses Stiles, who responds almost immediately by putting his hands in Derek's hair. 

"Fuck," Kyle breathes into Derek's ear. "Oh, man. You guys look…"

Stiles breaks away, smiling over at Kyle. "Yeah?" His eyes go wide. "Oh, my god. We're doing this, aren't we?"

"Bedroom?" Kyle points up the stairs, one hand on Derek's waist.

Derek nods, lacing his fingers with Kyle's and nodding him toward the staircase. He grabs one of Stiles' hands with his other, giving Stiles an encouraging smile. "That okay with you?"

"I'm gonna say fuck the consequences and say yeah. Let's go. If I don't get naked soon, I'm gonna die."

Kyle laughs and leads them up the bedroom. Stiles grips Derek's hand hard, like he's drawing strength, or maybe like he's worried he's going to pass out and fall down the stairs. 

As they enter the bedroom, Kyle first and Stiles last, there's a pause. Derek doesn't know what to say. It's not like he's ever done this before. He's used to being in Kyle's space, undressing him and touching him because he knows his touches are welcome. He doesn't know the same with Stiles. 

Before too long, Stiles lets go of Derek's hand and grabs the hem of Derek's sweater. Meeting Derek's eyes, Stiles asks, "Can I?"

Derek nods, "Yeah." He raises his arms, and notices when Kyle steps up behind him and helps Stiles pull the sweater up. When the fabric pulls away and Derek can see again, Stiles and Kyle are kissing. Stiles sucks on Kyle's tongue, and Derek can't help but grab Stiles' hip and pull him closer, grinding his erection against Stiles. 

When Kyle breaks away, pulling on Stiles' shirt this time, he asks, "What do you like? What do you want?"

"I—" Stiles gasps when Derek sucks a kiss against Stiles' neck. "Oh, shit. Derek. I— I wanna fuck. Someone. I wanna fuck someone."

"Me," Derek demands, surrounded by Stiles' scent, his cock rock hard at the thought of Kyle watching him get fucked, like they've been talking about, like Derek's proving something. Derek doesn't know what he has to prove, but he knows he desperately needs to do it. "Fuck me, c'mon."

"Yeah, baby," Kyle breathes against Derek's ear, his hand cupping one of Derek's ass cheeks. "You want to suck him while I get you ready?"

Derek shakes his head. His thoughts are slow, clouded by the force of what he's feeling as Stiles' hands skid over his skin. Biting at Stiles' jaw, he confesses. "Want _your_ fingers."

"Shit, Derek!" Stiles gasps, one of his hands reaching down to squeeze Derek's ass cheek. Derek's knees tremble. "Fuck. Oh, my Christ. Alright. Maybe, y—yeah. Der, you should suck Kyle. I wanna see that."

Derek's mouth waters at the suggestion, and he turns toward his boyfriend, dropping to his knees. When he looks up, Kyle's eyes are hooded and he's rubbing himself through his jeans. Derek goes for the fly, asking, "Ky?"

Nodding, Kyle says, "Kiss me first." He bends down, pushing his jeans and his boxers as he goes. He kisses Derek hard, his kisses fast and passionate. As they kiss, Derek helps Kyle get his feet out of the jeans. They always get stuck. 

Stiles plasters himself against Derek's back, his hands on Derek's stomach, hovering just north of where the head of Derek's cock strains to get free of his pants. "Is he always like this?" It takes Derek a moment to realize Stiles is talking about him.

"Sometimes," Kyle replies, rubbing a thumb against Derek's lower lip. Derek gives into the urge to let his mouth fall open so Kyle can stroke his tongue. The taste of Kyle's skin is thick and heady. It makes Derek's body feel open, ready, like he doesn't have to worry about anything and can just let go. "Yeah, isn't that right, baby? You're so good."

Derek nods and flicks his tongue up against Kyle's thumb. Kyle shudders and pulls back, whipping off his shirt. Kyle's cock is so hard it's standing almost all the way up to his belly button. The anticipation of getting to taste him, of getting to make Kyle feel good, makes Derek take one quick breath after another. Derek's good at this. He can prove it.

~*~

Kyle is torn between watching Derek close his eyes and take Kyle’s cock into his mouth, and watching Stiles’ face as he watches Derek. Maybe he imagines it, but Kyle’s fairly certain he hears Stiles whimper. The sound, real or imaginary, makes Kyle’s blood boil. Fuck. There’s so much Kyle wants to do, either to Stiles or to Derek while Stiles watches. A wet drip of precome dribbles from the head of Kyle’s cock as it jumps, just because Kyle's thinking about the possibilities.

Derek licks the drop away with a long stroke of his tongue, fingers curling around the base of Kyle’s cock. God, he can barely think, but Stiles is just kneeling there behind Derek, watching over Derek’s shoulder. He watches with such rapt attention, like he’s never seen anything as awesome as Kyle’s cock, and it’s a head trip, to say the least.

Kyle moves one hand to Stiles’ head, stroking back through his hair and getting his attention. When Stiles meets his eyes, Kyle says, “Get Derek’s pants off.”

“Right!” Stiles rolls his eyes at himself and smirks, but his expression is still colored by awe. 

When Derek wraps his spit-slick lips around Kyle’s cock and sinks down, sucking lightly, Kyle can’t help but throw his head back and groan. “Fuck, I love your mouth, baby.” It’s true. Kyle loves it when Derek goes down on him, but it’s never felt as intense as it does right now. Kyle’s entire body feels in on the action.

Derek pauses, pulling away except for the hand on the base of Kyle’s cock, as he helps Stiles get his pants off. Kyle decides it’s a good moment to change their position. He takes Derek’s hand, uncurling it, and says, “C’mon. Up on the bed.”

As Derek stands up, and Stiles follows, Kyle catches Stiles in another kiss. His kisses are so different from Derek’s, and surprisingly skillful. Kyle thinks he’d be happy spending _hours_ just kissing Stiles. When Stiles steps closer, the fabric of his pants brushes against Kyle’s dick, and that just will not do. 

Kyle drops his hands to Stiles’ waistband and pulls back enough to meet his eyes. “Okay?”

Stiles nods eagerly, his lips still pressed out in a pout. Kyle unbuttons Stiles’ fly and kisses him again. It takes some maneuvering to get Stiles’ boxer briefs off with his dick as erect as it is, but Kyle accomplishes it. He hears the bedside table drawer open, and Derek start rooting around. Right. Derek needs more than kissing right now.

Kyle takes a moment to look down at Stiles’ cock and sees that, though he’s aroused enough that it’s mostly pulled back, Stiles’ foreskin is intact. Kyle wraps his hand around it and pulls upward, tugging the skin up around the head of Stiles’ cock, and then back down the shaft. Stiles gasps. “Oh, holy fuckballs!”

After an outburst like that, so very _Stiles_ in its nature, Kyle can’t help but laugh. “Good?”

“Oh, god. Yeah,” Stiles sighs, sounding as relieved as a man who’d spent the week in the desert finally finding an oasis. Stiles turns when Derek rejoins them, kissing Derek thoroughly. 

Derek’s hand comes down over Kyle’s, and they stroke Stiles’ cock together. Kyle needs to have his lips on someone, so he leans over and kisses Derek’s shoulder, sucking on the skin and biting lightly. Derek gasps through his nose.

After a few more strokes, Derek’s hand leaves Kyle’s, and Stiles murmurs, “Wha?”

Derek’s pressing the water-based lube into Stiles’ hand, along with a condom. It’s not the lube they usually use, which is thicker and greasier, but with a condom in play, this lube makes sense. “Good thinking, baby,” he tells Derek, breaking away from the two of them and jumping onto the bed. 

Kyle rearranges the pillows and props himself up against the headboard, spreading his legs and motioning for Derek to come to him. Derek gives Stiles one last kiss, and then obeys, settling himself between Kyle’s legs, his ass in the air.

“That’s it, baby,” Kyle says, petting Derek’s hair, and allowing Derek to wedge one of his forearms under Kyle’s thigh so Derek can rest on his elbow. Stiles has the lube in one hand and the condom in the other as he stands beside the bed. He looks like he doesn’t really know how to start. 

“Get up here,” Kyle orders him. 

Stiles snaps to attention and nods. “Right.” He follows orders and kneels on the bed behind Derek, setting aside the condom and opening the lube. “How do you like it? Fast? Slow?”

“Start slow,” Kyle tells him, taking a sharp breath when Derek returns his mouth to Kyle’s cock, sucking slowly, drawing it out. Kyle pets Derek’s hair again. “I’ll tell you when to speed up.”

Stiles nods, pouring some lube into his hand and holding it for a moment before rubbing his fingers in it. Derek is right, Stiles' fingers are great, nice and long. Kyle imagines letting Stiles finger him open for hours, and he has to bite his lip so he doesn't come. 

Kyle watches Stiles, his eyes so dark they look almost dangerous, move his hands to Derek's ass. He strokes down between Derek's ass cheeks, pausing once when Derek jolts and then hums. The vibrations make Kyle's pleasure jump to a whole new level, and suddenly he's glad he can't see exactly what Stiles is doing from this angle.

"Fuck," Stiles groans, his hand rocking back and forth in little motions. "God, you just open right up!"

Derek pulls his mouth away, pressing his face against Kyle's thigh and panting through a whine.

"Yeah, you're good, aren't you, Derek?" Kyle says, missing Derek's mouth, but also glad for the break. It feels like his whole body is on fire, and he doesn't want it to end too soon. Even watching the muscles on Derek's back clench and twitch has Kyle's heart practically in his throat and his stomach roiling with want. Behind Derek, Stiles has his lips parted, his eyes focused on how he's drawing his fingers out and then pushing them back in. Kyle pets down Derek's neck and back. "You're so good at opening up, baby. God, you were meant to be fucked. All the time."

Derek whines and Stiles looks up at Kyle, his eyes flicking down Kyle's body and then back up to his face, to Kyle's mouth. Stiles leans forward, over Derek's back, pressing his fingers in, in, in. Derek gasps. Kyle bends almost in half to meet Stiles in the middle, kissing him for all he's worth.

His forehead pressed against Kyle's, Stiles murmurs, "I'm gonna fuck your boyfriend right in front of you, Ky."

"Fuck yeah, you are," Kyle replies, moaning when Derek licks at his cock. 

His breath hot against Kyle's mouth, Stiles does something that makes Derek groan loudly. "I'm gonna fuck him so well, Ky. So good. Next time you do him, he'll be thinking about me. Isn't that right, Derek?"

Derek doesn't reply in words so much as he does in a whine. Stiles smiles against Kyle's lips and Kyle laughs just before kissing Stiles again. "Yeah, get that condom on. We'll see if your actions—" Kyle pauses to gasp as Derek sucks his cock almost to the root. "If your actions live up to your words."

Stiles gives Kyle one last kiss and then pulls away, taking his fingers out of Derek's ass. Derek groans at the loss, so Kyle pets his head. "It's okay, baby. You'll have what you need soon."

Derek's tongue strokes at Kyle's cock. Fuck. He's getting close.

Hands trembling, Stiles struggles to open the condom wrapper. Kyle motions for it. "Here. C'mon, quick."

Stiles hands it over with what sounds like his nervous chuckle. "Oh, god."

Meeting Stiles' eyes, Kyle pushes at Derek's shoulder to get him to hold up. "You still okay, Stiles?"

The nod Stiles gives is so rapid, it looks like he's going to shake his brain out. "Yeah. Good. I mean," his eyes dart back toward Derek's ass, "I could be a lot better."

Laughing, Kyle lets go of Derek and uses both hands to open the condom wrapper. He hands the whole thing over to Stiles and turns his gaze back down to Derek. Kyle still watches through his lashes as Stiles rolls the condom onto his cock. Stiles shudders, putting a stabilizing hand on Derek's back, and then picks up the lube again.

"He's almost ready for you, baby," Kyle tells Derek. "How much do you want it?"

Derek gargles, his throat clenching around Kyle's cock. Fuck, it won't be long now.

Nodding to Stiles as he finishes coating his cock, Kyle tells him, "Do it. Just slam right in. He can take it."

"Fuck." Stiles takes a deep breath, lining himself up. "Alright. Here goes—"

Without warning, Derek drives himself backward, his mouth popping away from Kyle's cock. 

"Oh!" Stiles cries, grabbing onto Derek's hips for balance. "Oh, shit. Derek!" Stiles looks up at Kyle, his eyes wide. "This is—" He pushes Derek away and then pulls him back in with a gasp. "Fuck, you get to do this…" He gasps again. "...all the time?"

Kyle is breathless with want, his cock so hard it feels like a feather touch could get him to come. "Yeah. Nice, huh?"

Stiles throws his head back, exposing the long line of his neck as he and Derek rock together several times in short succession. God, Kyle just wants to suck on that neck, but he can't quite reach when Derek grabs Kyle's cock and lines him up with Derek's mouth. Each time Derek rocks away from Stiles, his mouth closes around the head of Kyle's dick.

"Fuck, yeah," Kyle breathes. "Oh, god, Derek. You're so good. So perfect, baby." An undeniable pressure builds at the base of his spine and his balls draw closer to his body. "Der, I'm gonna—"

Derek sucks hard as Stiles pulls him away, and the hot-wet-sweet draw of his mouth is the last bit Kyle needs to tip him over the edge. He comes, his cock clenching and spurting come in stripes up Derek's face and then between his lips as they close around him once more.

The surge of orgasm is followed quickly by this welling of affection, for both Derek _and_ Stiles. It's almost overwhelming, so Kyle pushes it into something productive. He grabs Derek's shoulders and guides him up so he's standing on his knees, Stiles still fucking into him shallowly.

"Love you," Kyle says against Derek's shoulder as he gets Derek's cock in hand, pulling on it roughly, needing Derek to come. Derek shudders, his cock impossibly hard in Kyle's hand. Kyle meets Stiles' eyes over Derek's shoulder, grabbing Stiles' hand when he reaches out toward Kyle. It slips out of Kyle's mouth again before he can stop himself. "Love you."

Derek groans, latching his mouth onto Kyle's shoulder as he comes in Kyle's hand. Stiles cries out not even a second later, fucking into Derek in little jackrabbit motions as he cries, "Oh, oh, oh," his mouth open wide and his eyes rolled back in his head. One of Derek's arms reaches behind, landing on the back of Stiles' neck, holding him close.

They kneel there for a moment, all three of them still and breathing each other's air, and Kyle wishes the moment could last. However, as the glow fades, Kyle realizes both he and Derek are covered in come that will dry eventually. He lets go of Stiles' hand and reaches toward the bedside drawer, which has a package of wet wipes. 

His movement seems to break the silence, and Stiles pulls away as well, his hand holding the base of the condom as he pulls out of Derek. Derek sighs and staggers a little, but he lets Kyle wipe his stomach and face before he collapses down into the pillows, already half asleep.

Stiles ties off the condom and throws it in the same bin Kyle tosses the wipes. He steps off the bed with one foot, the other knee lingering as he meets Kyle's eyes. Kyle thinks that he might cry if Stiles leaves now, so he reaches out for him. "C'mere."

Stiles throws his arms around Kyle and squeezes him tightly. He breathes against Kyle's shoulder. "Oh, my god."

"Wanna lay down?" Kyle asks, pulling out of the hug except for his hands on Stiles' upper arms. "Stay with us."

"Yeah," Stiles says, letting Kyle pull Stiles until he's lying between Kyle and Derek. Kyle thinks maybe he's trying to trap Stiles into staying, but his brain is too fuzzy to overthink it much. "Thanks." Stiles settles with his back against Derek, and Kyle wedges himself under Stiles, so he has Stiles' arm over his chest.

He's half weighed down, but somehow Kyle manages to wrangle one of the blankets over all three of them. Stiles' eyes close and his breath evens out. Kyle doesn't think he's ever seen Stiles fall asleep before. As Kyle falls asleep, a thought crosses his mind. Stiles looks _so_ young while he's sleeping.

~*

Stiles comes to because he has an itch on his upper leg. He goes to scratch it, but his arm is stuck under something heavy. Oh, it's someone else's arm. The dark hair makes Stiles pretty sure that's Derek's arm. 

Oh, right!

Holding his breath, Stiles turns, and it's really dark in the room, but he's pretty sure that's Derek's outline. It smells like Derek, even to Stiles' plain old human nose. The sheets over them smell like Derek and Kyle's clothes, as well as _them_ , which means that Stiles definitely passed out on their bed after...

Well after all of _that_.

Stiles lies there and waits for the inevitable panic to set in. God, he should have taken his time to think about this, like Kyle said. What if it's a huge mistake? What if Stiles never gets to do it again?

Speaking of Kyle, he doesn't seem to be in bed. What if he's freaking out? What if he's disgusted with what they did and he's left Derek, all because of Stiles?

Stiles wriggles out from under Derek's arm and slides off the bed. He lands on what feels like his jeans, but when he pulls them on, they're a little high on his ankles. He's wearing Kyle's jeans, so Stiles figures fuck it, and he grabs the shirt he can feel brushing against his toes. It's big, probably Derek's, but it's soft and warm, so Stiles keeps it on.

Hey, he can cling to this fantasy that he gets to stay for a while longer if he wants to, damn it.

Stiles passes the upstairs bathroom on the way toward the stairs and decides to stop and relieve his bladder. Doing that makes Stiles realize he's actually kind of hungry. Stiles sighs; maybe Kyle isn't freaking out. Maybe he just got called into work or something.

Without his partner. Yeah. Right.

The thought makes Stiles realize something. Even if this were a one-time thing, if the Sheriff finds out about it, he's going to give Stiles a different partner. Maybe he doesn't have to find out. Stiles has no idea how he's going to act normal around Kyle and Derek, now that he knows what they both look like when they come.

Feeling a little like he's headed for the gallows, Stiles goes down the stairs. The kitchen light is on, so Stiles heads in that direction. Kyle sits at the kitchen table, his laptop open in front of him and a beer in his hand. Stiles announces himself. "Hey."

The smile Kyle gives him looks a little weary, but he gets up from the table, meeting Stiles halfway through the kitchen. "How're you doing?"

Stiles has to think about it, putting his hand on Kyle's chest for an excuse to touch him, before he answers. "Good? Like, worried about what happens now."

Kyle puts his hand over Stiles'. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He looks away.

Stiles can't stand the way his heart hurts. He puts his hand on Kyle's chin and pulls until he meets Stiles' eyes again. "What do you want to happen?"

"I want…" Kyle sighs and looks down again. When he looks back up, he asks, "Have you ever seen _Groundhog Day_?"

"Have I ever seen one of the greatest comedies known to mankind?" Stiles scoffs. "Dude, I _made you_ watch that movie, like two years ago."

"Right." Kyle laughs nervously, his thumb playing over the back of Stiles' hand. "No, but it's like I want _today_ to be groundhog day. I want to go to sleep tonight and wake up in the morning and the three of us are still on good terms. You come back over and we try something different each day. For infinity." Kyle takes his hand away from Stiles' and presses both fists into his eyes, shaking his head. "Sorry. I didn't expect this to affect me so much."

Stiles thinks about what it could be like, being welcome over here all the time. He wonders if he could sleep in Derek and Kyle's bed with them all the time. He wonders if he would stop feeling so lonely all the time. "Let's make it happen," he says, stepping closer and tilting his head onto Kyle's shoulder. "I mean, let's ask Derek first, but if he says yes…"

From behind Stiles, Derek's voice pipes up. "Derek says yes."

Stiles' lack of pants-wetting surprise is a testament to how accustomed to Derek's light-footed tendencies Stiles has become. He points over his shoulder to where Derek's voice came from and tells Kyle, "See, Derek says yes."

Laughing, Kyle motions for Derek to come join them, which he does, slipping around behind Kyle, but trailing a touch from Stiles' shoulder down his arm. Derek raises an eyebrow at Stiles' sweater, and Stiles thinks maybe he's not a big fan of sharing clothes, but then Derek smiles. Kyle beams, and he looks almost giddy. Stiles can't help but start to feel it, too. Kyle asks, "So, we're actually doing this?"

"I'm game if you guys are." Stiles steps as close as he can, rubbing one arm against Derek's back, the other hand resting on Kyle's waist. It feels better than Stiles would have dreamed to be wrapped up in other people like this. It kind of feels like coming home.

When the embrace ends, Kyle draws out from between the two of them, a bright smile on his face. "So…none of us are on shift until tomorrow evening. Pizza before round two?"

Stiles laughs, shuddering a little when Derek's hot hand skims down the small of his back. "Yeah, man. Sounds awesome."

Stiles definitely has ideas for what he wants to happen during round two.

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately, due to what I suspect is one person harboring sour grapes, I've had to turn off anonymous comments. If you need to reach me, or would like to comment anonymously, you can visit me [on tumblr](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com/)!


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